Resignation
by notantihero
Summary: Elsa stared at the young woman. Burnished copper hair, freckles sprinkled on her cheeks. Eyes with the same shade of blue she'd seen in the mirror far too many times. This, she thought, this is her father's bastard child. The sister it took her twenty-two years to discover the existence of. AU Icest; slowburn; dark!Elsa peasant!Anna
1. Chapter 1

**Resignation**

If someone were to ask Anna if she was happy, she would've smiled and answered in a heartbeat: yes; she was happy. She had clothes on her back, shelter, and food on the table for most nights. So yes; she was happy.

But no one had lingered long enough to see the smile falter, fading with each passing second with the steadiness of a worn clock ticking against the infallible passing of time. No one had cared enough to stay, and Anna was fine with that. Whatever discontentment she had felt when she saw young women of her age walking hand in hand with their beloved, whatever jealousy that struck her when noble ladies passed by in their gilded carriages and pretty dresses and easy lives had dissipated as easily as the weariness in her grew.

She had stopped wishing and simply resigned. Suitors and dresses that cost a village was never in her ten year plan, or even life plan, really. And she was fine with that.

Her hands movement momentarily lulled and not a second later a voice boomed behind her. "No one told you to stop, wench! Stop scrubbing again and I'll throw your sorry hide back onto the gutter!"

Swallowing a scowl and a litany of curses involving farm animals down, she forced a grin and merely turned to wave at the source of the voice, knowing full well how it irked her boss when she showed no reaction to his words.

"Will do, boss!" She yelled good naturedly, resuming her motion of wiping the wooden tabletop, inwardly dreading the fall of night. Night meant lewd men, wandering hands, terrible singing and smashed glassware. A fine life might be too much to ask for, but surely she could at least _hope_ for a better job, could she?

Hands running on muscle memory, her mind wandered off to the thought of the Earl Marshal in the king's household. An assuming, albeit authoritative man, she had watched him often enough from the windows of the tavern. He'd stop by every week like clockwork at the blacksmith across the street to purchase supplies for the fleet of horses under his care. Or if it was a particularly good day, even catch him lead a group of young knights out to a practice jaunt somewhere outside the town perimeter.

Though unlike her fellow tavern girls who were entirely too prone to flights of fantasies involving the men underneath the shiny armours, Anna only cared about the majestic steeds on which they rode on. In her opinion horses were far more gorgeous and less disappointing than men, whose vices she knew more than well enough after those years working as an underpaid, underappreciated tavern girl whose calling card seemed to consist of 'hey you! Yeah you! The red head!' followed by a rapid snap of the fingers on a good day, or a pinch on the backside and a wolf whistle on a bad one.

She liked horses. Not enough to name each breed by sight of course – she simply weren't privy to any knowledge of the sort – but enough to know the differences between destrier, palfrey, and so on. And that ponies were a different breed of horses entirely, not just _baby_ horses. It was amazing how many people actually didn't know that.

Oh well. No use thinking about it now. Even a lowly stable hand was above her station. The rainy season was coming, her roof was leaking and she desperately needed to not be thrown out into the gutter.

Her pathetic excuse of a job was the only thing separating her from hunger and having the rain pelt her head indoors.

She let out a long sigh. Resignation was fast becoming her last name.

Which was exactly why she had scarcely paid attention when the bell rang, a tell-tale sign of someone having entered the tavern.

"Sorry," she said, not bothering to look up from her scrubbing. Tables don't clean themselves, after all. And she had a leaking roof to think of. "We're still closed. If you'd come back in a few hours…"

A blur of black entered her peripheral vision.

"Lady Anna?"

Her head snapped up at the mention of her name. Even more alarmingly, having 'lady' appended before said name. What greeted her was one of those knights in shining armour, helmet cradled in the crook of his arm, cape ruffling slightly from his minute movements.

Anna blinked.

Silence stretched.

And stretched.

And broke.

The knight shifted awkwardly. "Pardon me, miss. I am looking… for… Lady… Anna. Do you… know… where… she might… be?" The first three words began normally enough, but his inflection started to stilt after, a way of speech usually reserved for babies and people who were thought as not quite there in the head.

Anna blinked harder.

"No? I mean, um," Anna began, "my name is Anna but I'm not a lady, so you might have found the wrong Anna." She casted a glance around the shabby interior – its proprietor missing from sight, probably off to woo another poor maiden - wondering how in god's name had this shoddy excuse of an establishment been thought of as anything that would remotely host a lady. "I don't think there's any lady of any name here, but if you'd go to Lion's Mane three blocks east I'm sure you'll find this lady of yours. Maybe. If you're lost I can show you the way?"

Anna had fully expected him to turn and trounce over to their more reputable counterpart, but to her confusion he had simply ran his fingers over his hair and exhaled in what seemed to be abject relief.

"Thank you, but that isn't needed. You have been summoned to the royal palace and I'm tasked to escort you there. If it would please you, we shall depart immediately. The carriage is waiting."

Carriage? Anna looked at the window. Oh. A carriage. A _gilded_ carriage. A carriage with wheels that probably cost more than her entire year's wage.

She turned her attention back to the waiting knight.

"Is this about the apple I stole?"

"Pardon?"

"It was an accident! But I totally paid him back the next day when I realised I'd taken in in my bag and forgot to pay. I swear! I'm not a thief. I mean, sometimes I get desperate for food, but that hasn't happened lately and no matter how hungry I am I'd never, ever, _ever _steal. Mama taught me that stealing is bad and I'd…"

The knight's ever polite smile wavered along with Anna's ramble.

"Oh. This isn't about the apple, is it?"

"No."

She started thinking as far back as she could, trying to find any wrong she had committed to warrant a royal summons. Found none. Having a leaky roof was hardly a crime, was it? "Okay. If you're sure you haven't found the wrong person, do you know the reason behind this?" She asked, gesturing towards the carriage. She _really_ hoped leaky roofs wasn't a crime. But then again, it wasn't as if she could read a law book to ascertain her suspicion.

"I apologise – I wasn't told the reason as to why," he said, this time with the wary tone of someone who didn't know if he was dealing with a slow person or a deranged one, "but it's imperative that we leave in all haste, my lady. By your leave?"

Well then. A royal summons was a royal summons. It simply wouldn't do to have her head on the block by ignoring anything involving the royalty, leaky roof or not. She simply hoped her boss wouldn't be too angry with her absence as to follow his threat and throw her into the gutter for the absence.

With an air of resignation, she acquiesced and hoped that it would be brief, whatever this was.

Her approval secured, the visibly relieved knight led – no, herded her towards the carriage and very politely nearly shut the door on her face. Moments later the entire thing lurched forward into motion and she had to suppress a squeal bordering on delight and horror. Horror because she had never been inside a moving thing before; delight because she had never been inside a moving thing before.

The carriage jostled, and Anna nearly clocked the ceiling with her head. Delight, she decided. She was definitely feeling _delightful_. Settling back into the plush seat, she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the feeling of being in motion.

Despite the beautiful weather, the curtains remained closed.

* * *

For something that sounded so urgent, her arrangement definitely lacked any sense of urgency.

She stared at the clock. Half past seven. The first few customers should be trickling into the tavern by now; her slave driver of a boss would no doubt be livid from her absence. She would definitely be thrown into a gutter tonight, she decided. She had half a mind to open the door and flag a passing servant to ask very, very politely to be allowed back to real life and maybe come back here another day. But she didn't. There was very little doubt that any royal arrangement would be so flexible as to accommodate a simple tavern girl's needs, even if leaky roofs and going hungry from unemployment were at stake.

The world was never that nice.

She resigned herself into waiting, resuming her pacing. The carpet must be worn thin by now. Carpets were simply not meant to be threaded upon over and over again by a nervous peasant girl hell bent on passing the time by burning as many calories as possible.

Anna sighed as she paced, counting her steps in her head like a mantra. _1201, 1202, 1203… oops, almost tripped there. 1204… 1205…_

A knock interrupted her count.

She stared at the door like a girl caught stealing from the till. She managed a weak squeal after several hammering heartbeats, "y—yes?" And then added as an afterthought: "I'm uh, I'm here!"

"May I come in?" Came the muffled voice from the other side of the door. Though judging by the size, it was more of a gate than anything else.

"Y—yes? Please?"

The door opened to reveal a short haired brunette balancing an awkwardly large tray.

Anna choked.

"Hi there," Princess Rapunzel said, smiling. "It's almost dinner time and I just realised you might be hungry, so I brought… eep!"

Whatever she wanted to say next was interrupted as Anna tried to do a bow and a curtsey at the same time and only managed a terrific stumble onto the carpet. Anna's vision saw a rich shade of burgundy. She could've sworn she heard the walls cringe in embarrassment.

Before she could do anything however, slender arms had hoisted her up and she found herself face to face with the princess, green eyes narrowed in what seemed to be concern. Her vision registered the tray set unceremoniously on the floor.

For the second time in the span of seconds, Anna found herself choking again.

"PRINCESS! I'm sorry—I didn't, I, uh…" Somewhat desperate, Anna tried to do a bow/curtsey again, only to be stopped by the princess who still had her arms around Anna's waist.

"Maybe… maybe you shouldn't do that again," Rapunzel suggested kindly, pity stirring for this obviously uncomfortable girl. She wondered what her parents were thinking, what _Elsa_ was thinking. Or if they thought at all, really.

Satisfied that the squirming girl was decently upright and stable, she gave Anna another smile she could only hope was reassuring enough and went to pick the tray.

"No, I should—" Anna started. Rapunzel merely shook her head and motioned towards the couches facing each other with a small table between them.

"It's okay," she said. "If you would kindly take a seat there…"

Though looking mighty conflicted, Anna obeyed and took her place on one of the couches, back ramrod straight and fists clenched on her lap.

Boy, this really isn't going so well, is it? Rapunzel mentally sighed, following Anna's footsteps. She set the tray on the table and seated herself primly on the free couch, noting how Anna's eyes had bulged at the sight of all the food on the tray.

She wished Eugene was here instead of wherever he was. His easy jokes and natural charm would far more suitable in this situation than Rapunzel's stilted presence. Still, he was somewhere and she was here, watching the red head's nervous fidgeting, looking at anywhere but Rapunzel. A few years ago it would be _her_ sitting on the other side of the table, probably looking even more lost than Anna and probably a lot closer to a nervous breakdown. Eighteen years of imprisonment did wonders to her lack of social skills just as easily as how a few years of being royalty had negated the damage done. She hoped Anna would have her good fortunes. Elsa will treat her right. She will. Because if not Rapunzel would personally march all the way to Arendelle and introduce the Queen's head to her personal frying pan. International incidents be damned.

"Anna?"

"Yes, Your Highness?"

Rapunzel didn't voice her preference of being addressed by name only. Anna was skittish at it is – calling a princess without needless prefixes would surely send her over the edge. So she took the teapot instead and asked: "How would you prefer your tea?"

The question must have caught Anna off-guard, because she stared at her like Rapunzel had said 'how would you like your castle?'. Thankfully it didn't take long before Anna held out five fingers. "With milk please. And five sugars."

Rapunzel's eyebrows disappeared into her hair, teapot hovering mid-air. "Five… sugars?"

"I have a pretty bad case of sweet tooth," Anna admittedly bashfully, earning a laugh from Rapunzel.

"Five it is then," she said, relieved that the tension in the air had abated a bit. Taking one of the cups, she poured the tea in, leaving ample space for milk and the obscene amount of sugars. After the milk and the last of the sugar cubes was safely inside without a risk of overflowing, she took a spoon and stirred it before sliding it towards Anna.

She watched as Anna took a tentative sip, then sighed with satisfaction. "This is gooood," Anna said, seemingly having forgotten to be nervous at the bliss of _five_ sugars inside her tea.

"Can you even taste the tea? Doesn't it just taste like sugar by now?"

"It does, but I like it this way. Personally I'd go with six, but people tend to stare so I try to tone it down." Anna shrugged, then she grinned and Rapunzel's breath hitched. "You should try it sometimes."

"I… thanks, but I think I'm good. I… um, prefer it black, anyway."

Oh dear. She hoped Anna didn't notice the brief pause. Those eyes. Those eyes with that specific shade of blue, the way Anna twirled her thumbs together as she fidgeted, the life threatening penchant for all things sweet. The resemblance was undeniable. She hadn't seen Elsa smile out of anything but politeness – much less grin – but somehow she knew Elsa's grin would surely match Anna's.

She wondered if Elsa would be happy at this revelation. She would be terrified, the small voice inside her head said. Rapunzel ignored it. Her focus was the red head in front of her, not at what Elsa might or might not do. That was for later; she still had her frying pan, after all, and Elsa still had her head.

Most of the time.

"So," she started.

"So," echoed Anna.

Rapunzel gestured at the bread. She needed to buy time. To collect her thoughts. "Rye or wheat?" It took Anna a while to answer, mulling in silence as her brows furrowed in all adorableness. Swallowing back a laugh, Rapunzel picked up a slice of rye bread and slathered it in butter, piling slices of ham sky high and squashing it down with another slice of bread. "Ooor you could have both. I mean, we have enough meat on this platter to feed an army—" And Rapunzel had made sure of that, stressing 'poor girl' and 'starving' more than enough times to the maid, "—so you can eat _five_ sandwiches if you want. Just like your sugar cubes." She made a deliberate cringe, causing Anna to chortle into her sandwich.

And just like that, the tension completely melted. Rapunzel felt her shoulder sag in relief. She was glad she stuck to her decision of not inviting Anna for dinner in the grand dining hall. That could turn out quite badly indeed. She preferred an intimate setting like this herself, anyway.

Noticing that Anna's cup had already been emptied, she gestured to the pot. "Another cup, Anna?"

"Yesh phleashe," said Anna mid-chew, not even bothering to cover her mouth. "Fyaiveh—"

"Sugars," Rapunzel continued, already stirring it the last of the sugars. It was hard not to grow fond of Anna. She could only hope Elsa would feel the same. "I suppose I could warn you of early death, but I doubt you'd listen. Here."

Anna beamed at her and took the proffered cup, washing the last of her sandwich away with the liquid sugar (because Rapunzel absolutely rejected the idea that that thing was still considered tea at this point). "Of course I wouldn't. You know me well, Your Highness."

And how true that is_,_ Rapunzel thought, remembering the stack of parchments on her desk. Somewhere outside a bell chimed eight times. Eight o'clock. She couldn't stall any longer.

"Anna? Do you know why you were brought here?"

"Uh…" Like a child caught red handed in a cookie jar, Anna immediately retracted the hand that was hovering above a slice of ham and folded it back onto her lap, thumbs twirling against each other. She offered a nervous smile, showing teeth. "No? I ah—hoped you might enlighten me about that matter. Your Highness."

"I can't."

"Excuse me?"

"I can't," said Rapunzel again. "It's not… it's not something that's up to me to divulge."

The princess looked uncomfortable enough, offering Anna a wary smile like some sort of truce. Anna wasn't quite sure why; it's not as if she could wrangle anything out of a royalty without a guillotine meeting her neck immediately after. She started to have a feeling that she was lured here just to be fed nice sandwiches and expensive teas in expensive cups. Not that she would've normally minded, but it did cost her a job, kind of. A job and many, many days without a meal. Logic dictated that she should be angry; or at least somewhat depressed. But really, she couldn't even muster any of those emotions.

She could only listen as the princess continued, "I can't tell you why, that's true. But I _can_ tell you what will happen after this. Are you all right with that?"

"It's not as if I have a choice, your highness," Anna said, any hint of bitterness devoid in her inflection. She wasn't even nervous anymore. Just… resigned, really.

Rapunzel, too, seemed to share the same feeling of being resigned. She heard the princess let out a soft sigh.

"You're right, Anna. If it were up to me, you would have a choice in this, I guarantee it. I'll tell you everything you need to know and give you ample time to make a decision. Sadly, it's out of my hands. The orders came from… well, from someone who outranks me, I suppose."

"Someone who outranks the _princess?_" Anna couldn't imagine it.

"Like the King and Queen, for example-"

Oh. That makes sense.

"—but it's not my parents."

Oh. Now it doesn't.

"Not all kingdoms are created equal, Anna," Rapunzel said, as if reading her thoughts. "But let us not go into that. The person who summoned you is a Queen, but not _my_ Queen…"

"So a Queen of a kingdom that's more powerful than even Corona?" She might just be a simple tavern girl, but Anna liked to think of herself quite astute in her observations. Being surrounded by the lowliest of lowly human beings made that a skill she had acquired out of necessity. It was coercion, pure and simple. Somewhere a powerful Queen from a powerful kingdom had required Anna's presence for one reason or another and subjected the royalty of Corona to kidnap a poor peasant from her job and secure her in a room big enough to host half of the town and feed her expensive cuts of meat.

Huh.

Maybe she was as daft as everyone thought she was, because that didn't make the slightest sense. Unless they were trying to fatten her up and use her as a human sacrifice. She hoped no volcanoes were feeling particularly active one of these days.

Her eyes nearly went cross-eyed from confusion. She could try to get a name, at least. "So um… are you allowed to at least tell me which Queen this is?"

"That much I can tell you. You're bound to meet her soon enough, anyway. It's… Queen Elsa of Arendelle. Have you heard of her?"

"Not really, no," admitted Anna sheepishly. Geography or royal gossip wasn't really her strong suit. Her world consisted of tavern, of her home and nothing else. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if there were any active volcanoes surrounding this Arendelle place. "So… Queen Elsa right?" Rapunzel nodded. "She wants to meet me? I mean, I know you can tell me why, but you can tell me when, right? Or where? Like, maybe tonight—"

Her barrage of questions ceased when she saw the look on Rapunzel's face: a look of such pity that Anna's blood would immediately boil if not for the equally powerful shadow of concern flitting alongside the pity. Pity, she could easily drown with indignant anger. But pity _and _concern? They weren't right together. Were never right together.

It clicked.

"She wants me to go there," Anna said, her fists white from their grip on her dress, "to Arendelle."

"Yes."

"Will I be able to come back here again?"

"Not for a while." Implication: or ever.

Her fists uncurled and she watched impassively as the blood rushed back under her skin. Resignation.

"When will I leave?"

"Tomorrow; at the crack of dawn. If you have any personal belongings or friends to say farewell to, we can arrange as escort to take you out after—"

"No, it's all right, Your Highness" Anna interrupted. "I don't have any."

And Rapunzel smiled so sadly Anna thought it would break her heart.

**Continued**

* * *

A/N: Any constructive criticisms and reviews much appreciated! Morale boost and all.

I originally wanted Elsa to appear in this chapter, but then it dragged on and on and I got quite sad Elsa appeared in name only. I mean, I wrote this. But still. It's _Elsa_.


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

The dull thuds of Kai's knocks reverberated through the hallway. Already past midnight, the hallways were bereft of the usual chatter of bored servants and the _clunk clunk_ of wandering knights' hefty armours. The only thing he could hear now was his soft breathing; the only things he could see constrained by the soft illumination of the candle in his hand. He stood still and waited.

Moments passed and yet no answer was forthcoming.

Kai had not moved from his spot. There was no doubt in his mind that his Queen was inside, just as surely as he knew all the cracks and crevices on the castle walls. Cold. Follow the cold and you will find your Queen.

His breath curled into white condensation before dissipating. He stood still, unflinching as a layer of intertwined ice formed up the door as it swung open.

His Queen. How terribly prone to whimsical displays of power.

The door fully ajar, he slipped inside and bowed against the soft click of closing doors. Breath streaming white, he allowed his pupils to adjust against the bright glow of the fireplace, noting the silhouette of his Queen's figure in front of it. He stepped forward and bowed deeply, holding the pose for five counts of his heartbeat, then resumed his steps, stride unbroken as he placed the candle on a shelf mid-way.

"Your Majesty," he said, stopping a few strides scant of the chaise his Queen was currently lounging in, her platinum hair gleaming under the fire's dancing light. A thick tome was in her hands, no doubt about the history of yet another kingdom.

He waited patiently for her to finish reading the current page. Finally slender fingers gently closed the book shut, placing it on the tables besides the chaise. The Queen finally gave him her attention. "Kai."

Kai bowed once more, shorter and shallower. "My Queen. Forgive my intrusion at this unreasonable hour."

"There's no need to apologise. You weren't interrupting anything important," Elsa said with a dismissive wave, adjusting her position to sit upright to face Kai with her legs crossed. "Is there anything that requires my attention?"

Her voice betrayed no irk or false politeness, and Kai wondered if she ever sleeps at all.

"A messenger has come, bearing the seal of the Kingdom of Corona. It pertains to your…" He cleared his throat. "To the lady."

"Show me."

Years of training and servitude reigning any show of hesitation felt, Kai reached into one of his vest's pocket and handed the letter to Elsa,

Similarly, nothing showed on Elsa's face as she broke the wax seal and read the content out loud: "'_ The lady is bound towards Arendelle._' I see."

A second and a lazy flick of the wrist later, the parchment had floated lazily into the fire: an almost instantaneous disintegration with only small, flying sparks arching lazily in the air as evidence for its existence.

"Is that it?"

"That is it, Your Majesty."

"Very well. You are excused."

But Kai did not, showing a rare defiance of her order. Elsa quirked an eyebrow. "Or is there something else?"

"No, Your Majesty," Kai said, expression carefully unreadable. "But as your loyal subject, I do need to once more remind you that this is not a sound idea."

Another royal flick of the hand. "We've been through this, Kai. And I've told you enough of the reasons why that surely by now you would have learned to if not accept it, then merely tolerate it?"

"I'm just not quite convinced if 'keeping your enemy close' is a good enough reason, Your Majesty. She will remain oblivious if we let her be – there is no reason to invite a potential threat to your own doorsteps—"

At this Elsa barked a single, disbelieving laugh. "_Threat?_" She said, voice lilting high with incredulousness. "A simple peasant girl? To _me? _Must I remind you what my powers are, again?"

Kai heard the wind howl against the castle, signifying impending storm.

"No, Your Majesty. I am quite familiar with your power."

"I'm glad," said Elsa, voice back to its usual polite dismissiveness. "Let me just remind you that the threat of a coup d'état should she ever realise her true heritage will be far easier to mitigate once she is within our walls, yes? The Kingdom of The Southern Isles was built from the rebellion of a farmer who by all rights had less supporting cause than a King's bastard child."

"Only due to their predecessor's cruel, tyrannical monarchy, Your Majesty."

"And I am a witch-Queen who commands the power of ice, feared even by my own subjects. Is that not worse? They will happily overthrow me for so much less than a royal bastard's banner."

Kai did not refute that statement, having heard enough with his own ears of the dissent growing between Weselton and their allies. The ripple of fear passing through the citizens of Arendelle – her _own _people she had never failed to protect. The world was unjust, and his young Queen bore it all with the infinite patience of Atlas.

She would buckle under the weight; that was inevitable. But until then, he would remain by her side. He had sworn this to the King and Queen. To himself.

"They will come to understand your powers," Kai said. It was to convince himself as much as it was to convince the Queen. Elsa stared straight into his eyes, impassive. Neither of them believed it. "Then let me ask you this question, Your Majesty: If she were to pose a threat, what will you do?"

Elsa did not miss a beat as she said: "She will be disposed of."

"Your own sister?"

"Had blood-ties ever stopped my forefathers?"

"No, Your Majesty." He was well aware of the regicidal bloodshed that had built the foundations of the Arendelle dynasty. It was the sole reason behind the late King and Queen's decision to only have Elsa as their child, baring… that girl. But her existence was merely a mistake, something that even Kings were allowed to make.

Elsa's insistence of bringing in her illegitimate sister had complicated things, although Kai knew that if the times comes, she would be more than capable to handle the situation. But it would never come to that; he would nip the threat in the bud.

His Queen had enough blood on her hands; she did not need to have her own sister's added to it.

"I think I've sufficiently answered your questions – even if they did border on insubordination." A pause. "Or is more needed to satisfy your boundless curiosity, my _liege?_"

The storm had turned into hail. It was time to go. Any time the Queen had taken sarcasm in her words were times when the veneer would threaten to crack. Kai knew this well enough. It was a trait of the late King too, and he knew when to cease pushing and revert back to the discreet, loyal servant he was meant to be.

"There is no need, Your Majesty. I will question your judgement no more. May I take my leave?"

A shadow of emotion flickered across Elsa's expressionless face, but it was too brief for him to determine what.

"Wait. Is the messenger still here?"

"He is, Your Majesty."

"Send a message back to Corona, thanking Princess Rapunzel as well as the King Philippe and Queen Anora, with the reassurance that six of our warships will be sent immediately to join their fleet, as it had been dictated by our agreement."

"It will be done."

"And, Kai?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

A flush appeared on Elsa's pale cheeks as she looked guiltily at Kai. "Tell the kitchen to send a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of cake, please?"

For the first time in a while, Kai felt his lips curve into a genuine smile for the Queen. The shy little girl he had loved so much was still there, after all.

"That too, will be done with all due urgency, my Queen."

* * *

By the third week at sea, Anna was ready to hurl herself off the ship along with her breakfast. Clutching the waterskin tightly in her fist, she took a gulp and gurgled the water in her mouth before spitting it into the sea.

Take that! She mentally shouted, glaring at the ocean like it had personally killed her parents or something. At least now she was voluntarily spitting on it instead of involuntarily throwing up her stomach lining. Small victories. Baby steps. Whatever. She gurgled and spit again, just for good measure. And also to wash the last of the bile taste out of her mouth.

Bile.

She immediately turned green again.

"Heya. How's the morning sickness, my lady?"

Any thought of emptying her stomach disappeared when she heard Kristoff's jab behind her. She turned to face him and glared balefully, hand on her hip. "Like I'm due for delivery, that's how." Goddamned Kristoff and his goddamned lack of sea sickness. She swore that man's stomach was made out of iron lining or something. "Also, I hate you."

Kristoff chuckled. "You love me."

"Don't flatter yourself, you big oaf."

Anna couldn't deny that, though. The loving part. She didn't love _love_ Kristoff, but they had definitely hit it off pretty well, ever since he caught her nearly tumbling out of the deck in her attempt to catch a seagull at their first day off the port. She never found out how she got the idea of trying to catch a _bird_ out of all things, but she was glad she did. Ever since then their relationship had solidified to what Anna thought an easy sibling relationship would be like, and she was sure Kristoff felt the same way too, judging by his constant jabs at her expense.

That was what siblings do. She had gathered that much from the times when she was still a child, when she could still feel jealousy and hope: the two emotions she no longer allowed herself to feel. She was glad she had met him – his presence alone made the seasickness and the isolation tolerable – but she would never dare hope that their bond would continue on land. He was a Field Marshal of the royal army, and she was not quite sure what she would be.

She would savour these moments with him, she decided. It was the happiest she'd felt ever since mama had left.

"So, big oaf," she said cheerfully, jabbing him in the shoulder with all her strength, knowing he could take it, "what's the plan for today? Are we gonna continue our reading lessons? Because I think I'm starting to memorise the alphabets pretty well… though sometimes I wonder if the people who created the English language just kinda winged it, y'know. Can't they just make one letter have one sound? Instead of like, twenty?"

Kristoff's laughter boomed around the deck as he ruffled her hair with apparent fondness. "Three at most, my lady. Easy with the hyperbole there."

Now that's a new word, Anna thought. She sounded it again in her mind, trying her best to remember it. "Hyperbole?"

"Exaggeration," said Kristoff. He smiled down at her, familiar with her keenness to learn about absolutely everything and anything. "Which was what I thought your whole five sugar inside your tea thing was all about. Then you put in six. I've seen men shove some nasty stuff into their mouths, but you're the first to actually make me regret eating dinner."

Anna grinned cheekily. "Well I'm glad I'm your first, eh?"

"One of many." He winked, then turned serious. "But addressing your question, no, we won't be having any lessons today – oh don't give me that hurt puppy look; I'm already immune to it. Though to cheer you up, I think you'd be very happy at the alternative to stuffy reading lessons."

Pouting, Anna whined, "But I like our lessons. You're an awesome teacher, Kristoff."

Another bark of laughter. "Oh I know – but stroke my ego any more than that and my head wouldn't be able to fit through a door. Still Anna, I have a different plan in mind." He grabbed a passing deckhand gently by the collar. "Lend your scope for a bit to the lady here- thanks; we'll give it back soon."

Anna looked down at the scope the scampering deckhand had unceremoniously dumped in her hands, then up at Kristoff. "What's this about?"

"Comere," Kristoff said, taking her elbow and leading her towards the other side of the deck. "All right. Now hold it up to your eye and close your eye – not with the one on the scope, you goof. The other one."

Anna did. She squinted to the best of her ability, feeling a side of her face spasm as she tried to keep that eye shut. Everything was magnified through the scope, and—there! She could see the close up of a bird in the horizon. She leaned forward to take a better look, but was immediately yanked back by Kristoff.

"Yeah. Let's not nearly fall into the ocean again."

"But I _didn't_, and that's the only thing that counts. What are we looking for anyway? I doubt it's just for bird watching, is it?"

"Only partly. Look through it again."

Once again she obeyed. Still saw nothing but that bird and more water. "Wha—"

A pair of large hands grabbed her shoulders and she was awkwardly angled away from the bird, now facing slightly towards the left.

She heard his voice coming from behind her. "See that?"

"See what?" Anna definitely could _not _see. She swung the scope this way and that, trying to figure out what Kristoff was trying to get her to see. Maybe the sea was finally getting to him. Because there was absolutely nothing- then she found the extender, turned it counter clockwise and gasped.

"A port!" She exclaimed, excitement bubbling within her. "I see a port, Kristoff!"

"Not just any port. The finest port on this side of the sea and most probably the other side, too."

And it certainly seemed that way. Leaning forward safely with his hand still hooked to the scuff of her dress like a safety anchor, she could make out a town surrounded by gentle slopes of lush, green valleys. There were probably a few dozen trading boats moored around it, as well as what seemed to be giant war ships. Must be the Arendellian fleet. Now she could understand why Rapunzel had spoken of Arendelle like it was so much powerful than Corona – because it was. She'd seen Corona's fleet before, returning in glory from some distant war somewhere, but even with all their navy congregating in their port, she could definitely tell that Corona's fleet didn't hold a candle against Arendelle's seafaring might.

Arendelle was a warring nation, she realised, watching the tiny pinpricks of flags gently furling and unfurling against the easterly wind. But like the difference between Arendelle's and Corona's navy, whatever awe she had for the mighty fleet paled in comparison to the awe she felt when she finally saw the castle in background, a giant structure nestled on a hill far above the town.

A "whoa" was all she could muster. "The castle's huge! Holy crap, the towers look like they could touch the sky! And the gates? They're probably twice as big as the ones in Corona. Holy crap. I wonder how much one of them costs. What are they, _rich?_" She whirled to face Kristoff. "Wait. Are we going to dock today?"

"Yep! The wind's on our tail so we're making good time. If this continues, which it will, we should be there before sundown. Thought you'd be happy about that…" he paused, looking at Anna carefully, his brows furrowing. "But it seems like you aren't. Are you all right, Anna?"

Because she wasn't. Any remaining sense of wonderment had left her as soon as Kristoff had confirmed her question. She couldn't help but feel an air of finality settling in around her. She thought she had more time with him. _Wished_ she had more time. Was it too much to ask for just a day or two more?

It was. Even time was never on her side, it seemed. Once they land and this dream of a voyage had ceased, Kristoff would resume his duty as a Field Marshal and Anna would. Anna would what? She would meet the Queen. Then what? What was she? What would she do? Where would she go? All the questions hung empty with no answers to greet them.

She placed a hand on her stomach, willing the waves inside to dissipate. It wasn't from seasickness.

She forced her lips into her best grin, unable to bear the look of worry Kristoff wore. "Nothing. Just wondering if I'd still be able to meet my best big oaf, that's all."

Almost immediately his furrowed brows smoothed and Anna found herself enveloped into a bone crushing hug. "Of course you will, silly. I'll see you every chance I get."

She didn't dare hope.

"You better deliver, then. Or else." Her voice sounded muffled and small against his broad chest and his embrace was becoming quite painful. But she didn't mind the least. He smelled like warm linen, like comfort. When was the last time she had received a hug from anyone?

Eight years ago.

She tried not to show her disappointment when Kristoff broke their hug. "So," she started, not minding the least that he was still patting her head like a puppy, "what are we gonna do now?"

Pat. Pat.

"Now, we have an early lunch. Then you'll go back to your room and try to have some shut eye. I expect Her Majesty to want to meet you soon after you've settled in. Better be prepared for that. Wouldn't wanna offend by falling asleep into your salad bowl or by hurling last night's pudding into her dress."

Anna huffed. "There's no more pudding to hurl. They're all in the ocean now; probably fish food."

"Let's hope the Queen is benevolent enough to spare you death for mass murdering the flora and fauna in her waters, then."

Anna's best kick to his shin only elicited more laughter.

She could've sworn his entire _body_ was made out of iron lining.

* * *

"…na? Anna? _Anna!_"

"YES!"

Anna's head snapped up so fast Kristoff cringed, wondering if he would be convicted of manslaughter for indirectly breaking her neck.

"Dear lord, woman. Are you all right?"

Anna looked at him dazedly, and he chuckled when he saw the line of drool on the corner of her mouth. "Huuh? Krish… Kristoff? What's wrong—blurgh!"

A sudden gust of wind had swept the window's curtains inwards, resulting in Anna's inelegant consumption of fine royal fabric. He was still laughing as he took his left hand off his horse's rein and reached inside the carriage to gently pull the curtain off her face.

"You okay there, feisty pants?" Using a hand to guide the horse's pace to match the carriage, he peered inside, once again tickled at the sight of a post nap, post curtain munching Anna.

"…would be better if you were here instead of outside," said Anna under her breath, pulling the last bits of thread out of her mouth. "Why'd you have to ride outside anyway? I got so bored I fell asleep and dreamt about being seasick. Again. As if I didn't have enough of that."

"Because it's easier to serve and protect whilst on a horseback than within the small confines of a carriage."

Arms crossed, Anna snorted. "Protect me from _what?_ I'm just a tavern girl. Not someone important."

As important as someone the Queen had personally mobilised her vast network of spies to search for. He wondered about that, too. Not to question Elsa's judgement, but he did feel a bit miffed at his exclusion from information that he should have been privy to – if not for his position as Elsa's childhood friend, then at least to better protect Anna from… whatever it was.

He couldn't figure out Elsa, sometimes.

He had watched her blossom from a shy girl who saw beauty in everything the world has to offer, who grinned at everyone even if it meant showing the gap from her missing baby tooth, who loved a game of hide and seek more than a good book of swashbuckling adventure, to a competent, ruthless monarch with her heart safely tucked behind thick palace walls. A monarch who could order a man's execution without a blink of her eyes.

He wondered if 'kind' was still an adjective that could still be used to describe Elsa. He liked to believe it was.

He kept his voice light as he answered, "just as precaution, really. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. God knows just simply breathing hurts your brain enough as it is." Because he wasn't going to admit ignorance of his childhood friend's plans. His pride would probably not be able to take it.

Anna stuck her tongue out. "That's mean! Taking orders from rambling, drunken idiots take more than enough brain power, if you must know."

"Oh I know, believe me," said Kristoff, who was more than familiar with seedy old taverns. A change of topic. "So how do you like Arendelle?"

It took a while before she answered. "It's… different."

Ah, the safest answer. "It certainly is," Kristoff said with a nod.

The soft _click clack_ of his horse's gait matched the creak of the carriage as the conversation petered out and they continued slowly in silence.

"It's different from the atmosphere in Corona. Everyone seemed… uneasy, somehow."

_Click. Clack._

"You're right," he said. He was not at all surprised by Anna's pinpoint observation. "There are more and more active skirmishes around the border. The folks are just worried, that's all."

Skirmishes. Ha! He almost snorted in derision. That was only half of the truth. A very small, insignificant half of the truth. His size and open demeanour might have him look like nothing more than a mindless brute, but even he was aware of the wary glances trained on their small procession. They probably thought there was a Queen inside. Bloody idiots, the lot of them.

His knuckles tightened against the reins. All he wanted to do was jump down his horse and shake one of those blithering idiots by the collar and just. Just shout at them. _Stop being wasting your energy being so suspicious of your own Queen and focus on the threat outside, you goddamned fools!_

Mood darkening, his lips pursed into a thin line and his eyes narrowed, causing a few of the gawkers to disperse from his side. No doubt back to their safe hidey-hole. And who did they think had made it possible to live their daily lives in such carefree comfort?

The Queen they called a goddamned witch.

Cowards. Cowards. _Cowards_.

"Hey Kristoff?"

"Yeah?"

"We'll be safe, won't we?"

"Yeah." He kept his face away from Anna, even if he could feel the pinpricks of her stare against his cheek. His gaze was firmly focused on the road ahead. They were close to the royal estate now. He could see the small outline of the barely used side gate. Good. He needed to have a talk with Elsa. "Ser Glennane!" He barked, and immediately a horse and its rider sprung forward from the procession fanned behind the carriage.

The knight fell in line besides Kristoff. "Present, Field Marshal."

"I want you to break rank and send word to the palace that the Queen's guest has arrived. Please also inform the Queen's steward that I require her audience as soon as time permits."

And Glennane was off.

"Are we nearly there?"

"Yep. Quite soon indeed," he said after finally willing his face to resume a more neutral expression, and almost got hit by a wayward head. "Hey!"

"Ooooh. Is that the castle gate? It seemed kinda… well. Small? I expected something bigger." Poking her head and shoulders out of the window, Anna let out a small huff of disappointment. "Oh stop laughing. I'm terminally _underwhelmed _here, you big oaf."

He lifted his right hand and ruffled her hair, ignoring her yelp and various protests about hard gauntlets this and that. It's amazing how easily Anna could change his mood, really.

"Do you want us to slow down a bit? Maybe take some time to smell the flowers and stuff? I mean it's dark, but if you squint hard and bring enough torches to burn an entire mountain you can see some flowers, probably."

Another head had apparently sprung from his neck, judging by how she was staring at him.

"Why would we do that?"

The chains in his armour clinked with his shrug. "I dunno. Most people would be nervous about the prospect of facing royalty. Thought I'd just buy you time. We can even visit the kitchen first if you want. Get some bread rolls in you eh?"

Bread rolls. Anna's nose crinkled at the word. She's had thrown up enough bread rolls to last a lifetime and a half. Kristoff's concern was cute, though.

She squeezed her shoulders back into the carriage. "Nah, I'm good. Might as well get this over with. The sooner I know why I'm here the better I'd feel. Hopefully."

A pause.

"If you say so."

"I do say so."

"I'm not increasing our pace though."

"That's okay. I'll just squint hard and swoon at all the flowers I can't see."

"That's my girl."

* * *

For the second time in her life, Anna found herself politely deposited inside a room big enough to host several herds of stampeding elephants after Kristoff had sadly waved his goodbye. However, in comparison to her brief stint inside the castle walls of Corona, there were three major differences:

1: She was seated primly in front of a dining table so enormous it could probably be used as a stage for a travelling circus.

2: There was no cheerful brown haired princess to greet her.

3: Because instead, she was face to face with a striking, pale haired woman with an air of such magnificent regality the Kings and Queens of legends would probably run and hide from the sight of this woman alone.

She felt like rolling herself into a carpet and staying there for a long, long time.

"H—hi," Anna squealed.

"Hi," said the Queen.

**Continued**

* * *

A/N: Oh dear lord. I didn't expect to update this soon, but I have an assignment due… today, and my first thought is to procrastinate by writing more fiction, of course. I just needed to get this out of my mind before I can fully commit to the drudgery of school work. Please don't expect other updates to be this fast – it will be one or two weeks at most for the next one. Unless I've decided to fail my classes. In which case, soon.

But on a side note: thanks for the reviews, favs and follows! I was pleasantly surprised to wake up this morning to a list of updates from in my inbox. I love you all. Please keep the reviews coming. And I'd also very much appreciate any constructive criticism.


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

Elsa stared at the young woman. Burnished copper hair, freckles sprinkled on her cheeks. Eyes with the same shade of blue she'd seen in the mirror far too many times. This, she thought, this is her father's bastard child. The sister it took her twenty-two years to discover the existence of.

"H—hi," the woman finally squealed (woman, because Elsa was not yet prepared to refer to this woman as anything relating to her by blood), looking so small and nervous and terrified it was as if she thought her food had been poisoned.

It was a more than reasonable suspicion, Elsa supposed. Her ancestors were not exactly known for their gentlemanly murder sprees. She wondered how much this woman knew of her. Of her family. Of her powers.

She forced her lips to curve into a smile, her voice to cloak itself in velvet, smoothing the underlying edge. Actions practised to perfection in front of the mirror. "Hi," she said. "My name is Elsa. May I know what you are addressed by?"

She pretended to not notice the woman's twirl of thumbs, restraining her own hands from doing the exact same motion. So instead she clasped her hand primly on her lap, hating herself for this charade, for her inability to control the nausea rolling in her stomach. The constant ticks of the grandfather clock reminded her of the empty silence passing, but she was patient. It took time to gather the courage required to talk to a reigning monarch. She knew that all too well.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

She took the time to take a good look at this stranger she shared her blood with. Traced the outline of the woman (Anna, Elsa told herself. Her name is Anna. _Anna)_ - from the loose strands of hair tucked behind Anna's ears to smattering of freckles on her nose to the scratchy sounds the calloused skin of her hands made when they rubbed against each other. She saw her father in Anna's fiery hair, in the tan of her skin, in the lines of her jaw. She remembered her own pale hair and skin – a colouring neither of her parents had - and jealousy stirred within her. Jealousy tinged with a vague feeling of wanting to freeze everything in sight and scream at the world for being so _unfair_.

Those feelings were immediately pushed down where they came from (not her heart, because she certainly didn't have one), erased from existence.

Contain. Control. Conceal. Never feel.

_(Because to feel is to show weakness, papa had said, ruffling her hair. A monarch is better off without them.)_

So she waited.

_Tick. Tock._

Finally lifting her gaze from the table cloth to meet Elsa's gaze halfway, staring more at the spot behind Elsa's shoulder than her eyes, Anna managed a, "it's Anna, Your Majesty" with a voice so timid it would break Elsa's heart, but it had been established she had none.

But of course she knew that already. She'd done her research. Knowledge is power, and she knew all the threat to her kingdom by heart.

Elsa tilted her head, her fake, _fake_ smile still gracing her features. "Please just call me Elsa, Anna. Your Majesty sounds a bit stiff, don't you think? It gets a bit mouthful after a while, and I'd like us to skip any needless formality, if you're quite all right with it."

Her request surprised even herself. Elsa? _Elsa? _She wanted a mere peasant to call her by name? Was she _mad?_

Anna looked taken aback by the suggestion, and Elsa did not blame her the slightest. Only Kristoff had ever called her by her name, and here she was, wanting a woman she had just met, a woman who could overthrow her rule by the simple act of announcing her bloodline to do the same thing? There was something wrong with her. She was a monster, and monsters did not need a name. A name was utterly humanising, and she had ceased to believe herself as human. It was not self-pity: it was just a simple fact of life; as simple as knowing that snow is white.

She fully expected Anna to reject the offer.

But she didn't. "I—of course. I mean, if you're happy with it, Que—um. Elsa?" A burst of nervous chuckle from Anna echoed throughout the expansive room, and the tight knot in Elsa's stomach loosened.

She wondered why.

It was moot thinking about it, she decided, taking the goblet at her right-hand side. She took a sip, watched as Anna did the same, then immediately spat it back out.

Elsa raised an inquiring eyebrow. "You're not fond of wine?"

Like a dog caught relieving itself on a furniture, Anna shot her a guilty look as she wiped her mouth with the (scuffed, frayed) sleeve of her dress. "No, I mean, yes. I mean, um. I like wine. Wine is nice. But I worked at a tavern before I got summoned, uh, here – so I'm kinda familiar with how alcohol affects people, you know? So I'd… I'd prefer not to drink any. Not that I don't like your wine. I mean, I'm sure it's a really expensive, really nice wine that costs like, two gold pieces a cask or something."

"Five," Elsa said softly, well aware of the cost of anything and everything in her castle; well aware of how many potholes, how many roofs, how many lives that could be fixed with the cost of those lavishly useless decorations.

Anna's eyes widened into the size of a salad bowl. "F-five? That could feed an entire family for a year!"

"It could." And I'm sorry, Elsa wanted to say, but instead she motioned at Anna's dress and said: "did Princess Rapunzel not give you any other clothing to wear?"

Anna glanced down at her dress, then smiled apologetically, shrugging. "She tried to. Really pretty dresses and all. But I kinda asked for some hand-me-downs from her servants instead. Figured it fits someone like me more than those nice dresses. I'm sorry if It's offending you, Your—Elsa."

There was no hint of shame in her voice, just a sort of muted resignation, as if she had accepted her station in life and had decided to lie down and bear everything that came with it. It reminded her of a stray mongrel eager to eat any scrap it was given, it reminded her of _herself_, and Elsa felt her lips purse into a thin line. No one deserved that feeling. No one besides her.

She felt a sudden surge of protectiveness for this woman sitting in front of her, and Elsa nearly laughed at the absurdity of it all. Protective of a woman she was still all too willing to dispose of at the first sign of a threat.

And it was _her _feelings Anna was afraid of offending?

God; Elsa was so, so fucked up.

"I am not offended. However I will send someone to take your measurements; it's simply a shame to have a beauty like yours obscured by such worn down clothes."

Anna's jaw unhinged, a furious shade of blush colouring her cheeks. She muttered something about unnecessary compliments and it's okay, I'm fine with this, really and other ramblings about being unworthy of semi-decent things.

Elsa scarcely paid attention to the words.

"You really don't need to-"

"I insist. I do not compliment falsely, Anna. So save your objections to yourself, because you _will_ get fitted, and you _will_ get appropriate clothes made for you. You are beautiful, so please don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

True to her words, there was no lie behind Elsa's compliment. Objectively, Anna was indeed beautiful. An open, honest kind of beauty that inspired the kind of trust Elsa's looks never could. Hers was exactly like her powers: cold and malicious, met only with distrust and suspicion.

Yes; Anna was beautiful. Trim those shaggy bangs that were a few months overdue for a haircut, wipe that grim out of her face, put her in a dress that didn't look like it was a potato sack stolen from the kitchen. It was all objectively speaking, of course.

"Well uh, thanks, I guess," Anna said, still seemingly unconvinced. "I mean, I still don't believe it, but it was nice of you to say that. No one's said to me and um, I mean compared to you I'm. Uh. You look beautifuller." A moment of pause was followed by frantic wave of hands as she realised her erroneous wording. "N—not fuller _fuller_. I meant more beautiful! …oh no. I've made a downright fool of myself haven't I?"

All pretense of objectivity fled when Anna started laughing. The type of nervous titter so awkward and so self-aware it invited not the urge to laugh at her, but alongside her. Anna's nose crinkled from the laughter, and Elsa watched in fascination at how the freckles danced beatifically along her skin. Their eyes met and-

Elsa felt like she couldn't breathe.

Her first instinct was to bolt.

"I apologise," she said, giving her best approximation of a sincerely apologetic smile as she rose from her seat.

Any hint of mirth died alongside Anna's laughter. "Huh? But we've only just—was it something I said? It _was_ something I said, isn't it?"

"You said nothing wrong. There is just something that I need to attend to. The servants will be here shortly with dinner, which you are free to help yourself to, and someone will show you the way to your chambers afterwards. If you'll excuse me."

Anna's mouth was slightly open, looking as if she wanted to say something, but Elsa didn't spare her another glance as she all but bolted towards the exit. There was no rhyme nor reason to her action; all she knew was that she had to leave _now_.

Her stride lengthening, she increased her pace and continued like that until she was in a safe distance from the dining hall. From Anna.

Frost had started to creep up her fingers.

**Continued**

* * *

A/N: A very short chapter. I won't apologise as it's necessary to cut the chapter here because otherwise the next chapter will be unnecessarily long and I'll just feel like rushing it because of the word count. Just think of it as a character study on Elsa. On a brighter note, next chapter will be up soon.

Also, Jahaira, thanks for commenting about Kai's character. I didn't notice his certain obsessive qualities, but I'm glad you pointed it out. This will be quite interesting indeed.

To all of you, as always thanks for all the reviews and keep em coming!


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

Anna glared at the box of chocolates like it had personally broken into her house, stole her last loaf of bread and then forced her to watch as it kicked her neighbour's puppy in front of her. If glares could kill, that box would be more than eight feet underground by now, probably receiving a solemn eulogy about its pitifully short life or something.

"Miss?"

The shop keeper was starting to look concerned, so she forced herself back into good cheer and pointed at the other box, plain and brown and utterly ordinary, not at all lavish and ornately decorated like the one she had just mentally murdered. Just like herself, really.

"Sorry. I'll take that one. That's the cheapest you have right?"

"Yes but- surely you'd prefer something else? A lady like you—"

"Can't afford anything else, sorry," she said, giving him her best 'yeah I know right?' smile, not blaming him the slightest for his blatant assumptions about her status, or lack thereof. "So if you don't mind, I'll those please."

It was quite baffling, how people had started to treat her differently since she'd arrived in Arendelle. No part of her changed, but these people had suddenly started treating her like, well, like she actually _existed._ It was disconcerting what a piece of expensive fabric can do. Disconcerting and somewhat sad. She'd always known that people could be shallow and petty, but witnessing it first hand just because of a dress felt like a slap on the face. But she supposed it was simply human nature, and she could hardly fault them for that. It wasn't as if she was any less petty or any less shallow than these people who decided to treat her like a proper human simply because she was clothed correctly.

She brushed the thought off and waited for him to regain himself.

Though still looking quite perplexed, he retained his politeness, picking the box Anna chose and setting it aside on an empty counter space. "Sure thing. That'll be four copper pieces, miss."

She found the denomination inside her coin purse and forked them over, nodding her thanks. He set about to wrap the box and Anna leaned back onto the wall, placing her satchel on a stool besides the counter. She watched the movement of his deft fingers as they coiled the knots of a pretty gold ribbon this way and that to form some intricate pattern.

She hoped he won't charge extra for the wrapping.

"A lot of firewood you have outside," she said by way of conversation, remembering the giant pile of logs stacked neatly in a shed besides his shop, "are we expecting a bad winter?"

He gave her a long, sideway glance, his fingers stopping their motion for a brief moment. "Our winters are always harsh. If I were you, miss, I'd go back to wherever you came from and avoid this cursed placed until it ends."

Cursed. That was an interesting choice of words.

Anna voiced the question, baiting. "Cursed? What do you mean?"

"By cursed I meant the Queen. Don't you know about her?"

By her he meant Elsa's powers. Of course Anna knew. She could hardly throw a cat without hitting someone who seemed all too happy to talk about that particular topic. Most of them opinion not particularly flattering.

"Yeah but it's hardly her fault, is it? She can control ice, sure, but it's not as if she could actually control _winter_. It's kinda out of the realm of a human, I think."

"I don't mean to offend, miss, but you're clearly new around here if you really believe that – something like that couldn't be called human. It's just not right. " Yeah. Anna decided she didn't like this man anymore, chocolate shop owner or not. "Here miss, it's done. Do you—"

Anna grabbed the now prettily wrapped box out of his hands and stormed in a huff – nearly running over another patron - leaving the stupid shop with its stupid owner behind. Extra charges for nice ribbons be damned.

How dare they. Talking about Elsa like that, like she was their servant instead of their Queen, demanding her to change the bloody _weather_ out of all things. Just because she happened to control ice, she was suddenly the evil, tyrannical Ice Queen who caused only suffering in her endless reign. Anna hadn't seen anything indicating that case; no ice spikes skewering random people in the streets, no food shortage because Elsa decided to hoard all the gold to build a diamond encrusted palace or something. She just happened to be a little bit magical, but so what? It was like discriminating someone for being blonde, or being born with a birthmark on their face.

They were talking about Elsa like they'd known her personally. Well, not that Anna did, having only met her once before, and then having her leave without even answering why she'd summoned Anna all the way to Arendelle; a question that still remained unanswered even nearly a month later. But still. _Still_. Elsa was kind and just. Because surely no one that dazzlingly beautiful could be truly evil. It just didn't compute.

Anna stopped in her tracks.

Huh. Maybe she _was_ shallow and petty. Surely she didn't believe that Elsa was good just because she was pretty? That was an odd reasoning, because the prettiest girls had always been the cruelest to her. Not that all pretty girls were petty; Princess Rapunzel showed only kindness to her. And not that those girls could actually hold a candle against Elsa's beauty, because Elsa would totally crush all of them with their beauty, like a rampaging bull or some sort. Not that Elsa was anything like a rampaging bull, of course…

God; now her mind had spiraled into weird tangents. She wasn't even sure what she was supposed to think about.

Luckily, a shout from behind her saved her mind from further convoluted imageries linking raging bulls and Queens. "Hey! Wait! The lady in green!"

Well; she was wearing green. So she spun around, squinted against the sun and spotted a man jogging towards her with her satchel swaying wildly from his clutch. Oh.

A few short moments later the man skidded into a halt in front of her and bent down, hands on his knees as he huffed and puffed from the exertion. Anna watched mutely as he regained his composure, not sure if she should snatch her satchel back or pat his shoulder awkwardly. Both didn't seem like a very good alternative, so instead she set the box down onto the ground and unhooked the waterskin from her belt (because dying from dehydration was never in her long-term plan), popped the cap out and offered it tentatively to the man. "Take this. This should, ah, help."

He somehow managed a word of thanks between gasping for air, and she watched his adam's apple bob up and down in fascination as he threw his head back and gulped down the content inside her waterskin.

Finally done, he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of the hand still holding the waterskin and handed it back to her. "Thanks; that really helped. Though it seems like I've emptied it. Sorry about that."

He flashed her an apologetic, abashed smile, his auburn hair flashing in the sun and Anna nearly gasped. Dear lord; he was so _dreamy_.

"No it's all right. I mean, I can always fill it back up later. It's just water," Anna said. She took the waterskin, making sure to not accidentally touch his hand, and clasped it back to its place. "And you _did_ bring my satchel back for me. So I'm the one who should thank you, really."

She had no idea where the sudden shyness came from, but she made sure to never stare directly into his eyes. Doing that wouldn't really help matters much.

"In that case, you're more than welcome."

His smile widened into a grin showing pearly white teeth, and Anna suddenly felt that not only his eyes, but his entire face was dangerous to look at. And also his broad shoulders. And his toned arms. And well, anything about him, really. Resisting the urge to fan herself, she took the second item he handed her in the span of a few minutes and slung it through her shoulder. Never having interacted with anything of the male specimen who looked like he had just stepped out of a fairy tale involving damsels in distress and princes on white horses (minus the white horse and presumably white princely garb), she was at a loss on how to proceed.

"Well uh, once again thanks for this, um, Mister…"

"Mister? Boy that makes me feel old," he said. "Definitely not mister. Just call me Hans please. And you are?"

"A—Anna," she sputtered. "Nice to meet you, Hans."

"Nice to meet you too, Anna." He took her hand and shook it. It was a firm, friendly handshake. "And it was no problem at all. A satchel for a pretty lady, eh?"

It was the second time in her life someone had called her nice looking (because those drunken lechers who thought it was the magic word to unlock her skirt didn't count), and funnily enough, both came from people who by all means outshone her in that department. She knew Elsa and Hans were just being nice, but still, it sent flutters in her stomach. Especially because the compliment was immediately followed by a pinch to her buttocks. Not that Elsa would – that was blasphemous. Also kinda weird because they were both women. She wondered why she'd started thinking about Elsa, when Hans was standing in front of her.

"So uh, I appreciate the help, Hans, but I need to go back now… got some. Stuff. To do."

Hans's good cheer didn't seem the least bit abated. "Then like the gentleman that I am, I'll offer to walk you home. It's not safe for a lady to walk home in broad daylight on this very safe street with lots of witnesses around."

Anna chuckled at the image of someone kidnapping her in those exact circumstances. Handsome _and_ funny. Pity she couldn't take his offer – and not that she would, even back in Corona. Having a man whom you've just met walk you home was just inviting disaster. There was enough horror stories floating around, and she'd witnessed enough during her stint under her old slavedriver that she knew better.

"I'm sorry, Hans. I'd love to take your offer, but I can't let you do that; letting a stranger walk me home isn't a good idea—"

"Even a stranger as handsome and gentlemanly as me?"

It elicited another laugh from Anna. There was nothing conceited about his words, just pure self-deprecating humour. She liked it. "Even a stranger as handsome and gentlemanly as you. Besides, the place where I stay isn't exactly something you can just walk into. Not without being tackled by a guard and sent into the gallows."

"Oh? I can't imagine a place like that. Do you live inside a dungeon or something?"

"Not really. There's a dungeon I'm sure, but I kinda… live above it?"

Hans cocked and eyebrow. "So… the guardpost?"

"More like the castle?"

Hans's eyes narrowed and something passed by them, like a fleeting thought, or like sudden realisation. Anna simply attributed it to surprise at her uncommon living arrangements and didn't think any more of it.

"That's quite unfortunate – it does complicate things, does it?"

"Yes it does," said Anna softly. A lot of things.

She was free to roam the castle and town as she pleased, but she was under no illusion about the invisible boundaries she couldn't see but definitely could feel. There was almost always a guard assigned to follow her whenever she took a step outside the castle gates. Like the maids, her personal detail kept rotating, and she'd never once had the same person following her more than twice in a row. Walk a bit too close to the town gate and her detail would unfailingly suggest that maybe she was tired, maybe she needed to go back to the castle and rest, yes?

So she'd taken a habit of sneaking out through one of the servant's entrance located near one of the abandoned wings found during one of her explorations done from a lack of things to do. She'd wondered why no one was ever there to guard it, but it was kinda understandable. She had to squeeze herself between thick brambles and then climb a few giant boulders once she's outside, but she wasn't one to complain. It offered her a bit of freedom, and she was grateful for its existence, even so far as to nickname it Joan, kinda like her personal guardian angel.

Her life had a very, very short leash indeed. The life of a bird trapped inside a golden cage. Sometimes she'd stay awake at night, looking at the stars and the moon and wondering if mama was free and happy in her new life. She'd wonder if maybe her mother had actually moved to Arendelle, and maybe they'd bump into each other in the streets one day – mama's face would light up in recognition and Anna—

Anna would then crawl back into her bed and will herself to stop fantasising and go to sleep.

She shook the thoughts away. It wouldn't do to go back to that place, not when the sky is clear and there was a box of chocolates waiting for her to attack.

"So if you don't mind, I think I'll be going back now…"

"Wait," Hans said hastily. "If I can't walk you back, then at least allow me to buy you lunch? It's just such a beautiful day, I'd hate for you to spend it inside those stuffy castle walls. What about, say, a picnic on the pier to look at boats passing by because I'm boring and unoriginal and can't think of anything else?"

Anna's eyes widened. Did he just? "Like, a, a date?"

It was Hans's turn to stare at her with saucer-sized eyes. "N—no! Not that I don't want to of course, to have a date with you I mean, but I think it's too fast for that. I guess I just want to know you better." He shrugged, still looking quite embarrassed. "You just seemed like a very interesting person, so if you don't mind, maybe we can be friends?"

Not knowing she'd withheld her breath, Anna sighed in relief. Friends. Ever since Kristoff had dropped her off and disappeared to do his Field Marshally duties, she'd been one short of a friend. Out of one. She missed Kristoff, missed their lessons and his repertoire of verbal jabs.

So yes; she would definitely like another friend.

"That would be… I think that would be nice. I'm up for it if you are."

He clapped his hands together. "Awesome! How does sandwich by the sea sound?"

"I _love_ sandwiches!"

"Sandwiches it is then …wait."

"Huh?"

"You forgot your chocolate."

"Oh. Right."

* * *

"One… two… three!"

An arm outstretched, Hans threw the pebble into the sea, and they both watched as it soared into the air, then dipped down in an arc and disappeared beneath the waves. Not even close to the buoy.

Hans let out a groan of frustration, hands on his hips. "Damn it! It was _so _close too!"

"If by close you mean like a few boats away, then yeah. Very close," Anna said dryly.

He shot her a glare. "Then let's see _you_ try it, miss laugh-at-people's-misfortune."

Laughing at his hurt pride, Anna took the last of the sandwiches and bit a large chunk out of it. "No thanks," she said after swallowing, "I won this bet fair and square and no amount of cajoling would risk me giving up on this sandwich. None."

"Pfft. At least leave a little bit for me."

"Hell no!"

"Cheapskate."

"And proud of it."

"Fine. Enjoy your blood sandwich," Hans huffed, taking a seat beside her, his legs dangling off the pier just as hers was.

Despite the grumbling, she knew it was all just an act. They'd only known each other for a few short hours, but it felt like they were friends forever. He knew exactly what jokes made her laugh, what to say in every situation, even what her favourite sandwich filling is. All in all, he was almost too good to be real.

But Hans was good, and he was definitely real, lounging besides her with his hair ruffling from the easy ocean breeze. It was a perfect day. It would be nice to sit like this with Hans forever.

She decided to give him the rest of her sandwich out of pity. "Here," she said, thrusting the sandwich in front of his nose, "I'd feel bad if you got mad and started spreading rumours about me stealing sandwiches from the needy or something."

Hans looked at her in mock surprise as he took her peace offering. "Why thank you, Your Highness; your act of mercy astounds me. From now on—" then, to Anna's horror, he stuffed the whole thing into his mouth "— I wiwf offesh ish ofsh— hgh." Apparently trying to speak with his mouth full had proved to be quite difficulty, so he paused until the sandwich was inside his belly before speaking again. "Oh bloody hell that was harder than I thought. Well, I would continue the joke of offering each one of my unborn children to you and naming them after sandwich fillings, but it seemed like I've just effectively killed it."

The accent of his voice changed as he adopted a snobby, haughty tone commonly associated with nobility. "Then, my lady, shall we talk about the weather perchance? It _is_ quite dreary, but I do find this a good day to pursue my equestrian hobbies. Would you perhaps care to join me? We can have tasteless tea and engage in a conversation about the colour of one's lapel afterwards if it pleases you."

The accent was spot on, almost authentic. Even though Elsa didn't sound anything like that, with her gentle, nearly inflectionless voice, she'd definitely heard some of the more pompous castle people speak like that. Mimicry must be one of Hans's talents.

"Let's not," Anna said, giggling. "I've had enough talks about weathers lately. So much that I think I simply need to bump against someone to have a detailed description of the weather instead of just, y'know, looking outside of the window."

"Can't say I know that feeling, but fair enough. What should we talk about next, then?"

"What indeed…" They'd talked about everything under the sun, ranging from the nobility's insistence of wearing frilly long sleeved dresses to puppy noses to various kinds of bread… but nothing about themselves, she realised. "What about you, Hans? Let's talk about you."

"Me? That might be a step back from the weather, but sure. What do you wanna know?" he asked, seemingly surprised but not unpleased.

"About why you're here, for starters. You said you were new to town, but you didn't exactly say why. So what's up?"

Running his hand through his bearded jaw, he contemplated the question before answering. "That's a good question as any, I guess. Did I tell you I travel a lot?"

"You just did."

He chuckled. "Yeah, so when I heard about the ascension Arendelle's new Queen and her powers – back then I was still a wee boy, mind - I promised myself that I had to travel here and see it for myself. Took me bloody five years because there was just too many places to see and do – I mean, have you seen the grand Autumn festival in Dunbroch? Beautiful – but I'm getting sidetracked here. Anyway, I'm finally here and I'm planning to see everything Arendelle has to offer before leaving. Pity the Queen is nowhere in sight though, I really wanted to see her in action."

"Yeah… I guess she's not the type of royalty that craves publicity. I don't think I've ever heard of her attending any public event."

Hans hummed. "A pity indeed… wait." As if struck by an epiphany, he turned towards her, eyes flashing with curiosity. "But you live in the castle, so surely you see her around a lot, right?"

And Anna found her smile faltering. "Yeah… not really, no. I've talked to her once when I came here, but nothing after that. I've passed her a few times in the hallways and all, but she always seemed like she was in a rush, probably doing some Queenly stuff or another. Even if she wasn't, it's not like she'll go out of her way just to talk to someone like me. So… yeah."

It was true. Elsa had always been courteous in their brief encounters, always smiling politely whenever she saw Anna, but they had been wordless exchanges. Elsa had better things to do than waste her time on her. It would be nice if she did, though. Talk to Anna. But well, wishful thinking and all.

"Someone like you?"

Huh. It seemed like that hadn't passed through Hans. "Oh, I mean I'm just a common peasant who used to work in a seedy tavern. Nothing special at all."

"Bullshit," he said. Anna found his crassness refreshing. Very different than the air of suffocating politeness inside the castle. He stared straight at her, and she no longer had to avert her eyes. They were too comfortable with each other by then. "You're saying that you're just an ordinary girl who just happened to live in the castle? What are you, a maid or something?"

Waving her hand, she dismissed that question. "Nah. Current employment status: unemployed. Really Hans, I'm nothing special."

"So why are you there, then?"

"I don't know either," Anna said with nonchalance. Kinda past the whole being embarrassed about her seedy circumstances. "One minute I was just wiping tables in Corona, and the next I was shoved into a carriage and boated here. I was never told why."

And trying to ferret information out of unsuspecting maids had fast become old.

A cloud passed overhead, and the words died between them.

After a few moments Hans stretched his arms up and rotated his shoulders. "Okay then. Your circumstances are… interesting, but I won't pry further. It was nice though, the way you stuck up for her."

"Huh?"

"Y'know, the shop owner. He wasn't very respectful of her, was he."

Not a question. "Yeah, he wasn't. It seems like everyone has something to say about Elsa, and most of them not very… nice. I wonder why."

Hans had made himself comfortable by lying down with his arms serving as buffer between his head and the wooden plans, and Anna longed to dip her feet in the ocean and feel the cold on her skin.

"Fear, I reckon," Hans said to the sky. "I mean, the stories about her decimating an entire fleet with a single swoop of her hand? Might be an exaggeration, but…"

"But didn't she do it to protect her people?"

"Doesn't stop them from feeling fear. She's unknown to them, and people are afraid of the unknown. Even if…" And his voice dipped so low Anna almost couldn't hear: "Even if she's the only one standing between Arendelle and the might of an invading army."

Anna hummed. It was getting too dark, too soon.

"Say Hans?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna take a walk on the beach?"

* * *

It was already half past nine when she'd reached the outskirts of the castle. She'd somehow managed to spend the entire day with Hans, mostly doing nothing and talking about everything. Parting ways with him was hard, but at least he'd promised to meet her tomorrow again. That was what friendships were made from, and she was happy she could count Hans as her second friend ever.

But as nice as cheering as that thought was, now she needed to go back the only routine she hadn't missed since she came here: reading. No Hans was going to stop her from getting her daily dose of being attacked by words.

Like clockwork, she slipped through Joan and marched straight to the main wing – thankful that the duty of guarding her didn't extend inside the castle walls. The guards seemed as prone as ignoring her inside and they were in shadowing her outside. Passing through two guards with their half-hearted salute, she beelined straight towards the library, stopping twice to apologise to a boy she'd almost knocked over and then again to a decorative armour she'd de capitated in her rush.

Thankfully nothing else lost any body parts, and she made it safely into the library, slipping through the huge double doors before closing it softly behind her. No one was ever in the library at this time of the day that she'd known of, but she squinted in the darkness and took a look around just to make sure. She was the only living, breathing thing there.

Good. She let out a small sigh of relief. She really, _really_ wanted to finish that story. Placing the box of untouched chocolates (as Hans didn't like chocolates, that heathen) on the table in front of her favourite settee by the huge window, she then went through the room and lit all the candles one by one. With that done, she stood in the middle of the room and took a stock on her handiwork. Good enough. It was quite warm so she didn't need the fireplace yet.

Off to work.

She went to the beginning of children's section and ran a finger across each spine as she moved right, reciting the alphabet haltingly in her head until she'd found the one. It took a while, because by section she meant several. Several huge shelves that spanned from ceiling to floor. And that didn't even include the books in other languages besides English. Sometimes she'd wondered if this library contained all the books in the world. That was certainly a grand thought, and somehow suited its owner, though Anna was under no impression that Elsa would spend any time at all struggling to read even the simplest of children's books. She seemed more like the thick, dusty tomes kind of person.

Aha. C.

D… E… G? No. F. G… H…

Gotcha, Anna thought victoriously, inwardly patting herself on the back. She hooked her index finger on the ridge on top of the book's spin and pulled it out, resting it on the crook of her arms as she made her way back to the settee.

Unwrapping the box of chocolates, she took a piece and popped it into her mouth, letting it melt on her tongue. Right. Time to hunker down and read. She opened the book right where she'd placed the bookmark from yesterday, tracing the words on the yellowed paper before finding her place back in the words.

She started reading aloud. "'Now it came to pass that the King… or—ordained?A. Fes…tival. That should last for three days…'"

And she continued like that, words halting, sometimes tumbling against each other. It was hard, but deeply satisfying. There was a sense of progression when she read; the illusion of having achieved something in the monotony of her life. Kristoff had taught her enough of the basics to spread her wings and soar, so to speak.

Well. Soar into the ground, more like it.

She squinted hard at the particular word, nose almost touching the page. "Dis…appear? No… that can't be right. Cried for disappearment? Diss… diss…"

"Disappointment, perhaps?" a soft voice suggested, startling her quite badly.

Badly enough that the book she was reading had flown into the air and hit an opposing shelf with a thud, a hair's width from hitting the intruder.

She stared up at Elsa, who stood so very still and so very composed even after nearly having her face rearranged by a thick, leather-bound book. Anna's mouth opened and closed like a dying goldfish, and the only thing she could manage was a tinny squeal akin to a suffocating chipmunk: "_Elsaaaaaaaa?"_

"I didn't know you hated me that much," Elsa said dryly.

"W—what? NO! I didn't do it on purpose you just startled me and I threw the book in reflex and ohmygod I'msosorryforthrowingthatatyou but I didn't mean it I swea—"

"Relax; it was just a joke, Anna."

Anna's word vomit from the very near heart attack stopped, and she saw that Elsa was smiling lightly. Heat bloomed on her cheeks, no doubt from embarrassment.

"_Oh_," she said. And Elsa even remembered her name. Wow. "Phew. I'm glad you didn't mean it seriously, because I don't hate you. Not at all. Just… really surprised to see you here. I thought no one used this place besides me. Which is kind of a silly thought, come to think of it. Because of course this is a library, so of course people use it. Ha ha. Ha."

Oh god; she was rambling again. She should stop that, seriously. Because who in hell rambles in front of a Queen? Her, that's who. Idiot.

Elsa looked unperturbed, though. As if she hadn't noticed Anna's stupid verbal diarrhoea.

"I come here every night to read," Elsa said. She'd already gone over and retrieved the book, giving it a few pats before placing it back onto the table. "Though I won't blame you if you do."

Anna blinked. "If I do?"

"Hate me."

What. Why would she hate her?

"What. Why would I hate you?"

"For holding you here without reason, perhaps?"

Oh. _That._ And, mind lapsing into non-sequitur again, Anna realised that she was sitting in a Queen's presence while the Queen herself remained standing. _Standing_.

"SIT!" she all but shouted. Elsa's jaw dropped, and Anna had the sudden urge to strangle herself and jump off the tallest tower she could find. Trying to find a way to somehow save the situation from her own stupidity, she quickly scooted over to the edge of the settee and mashed her body against the armrest. "I—I mean I'm sitting, and you standing, and you're the Queen so that's just impolite. I'm not—I'm not ordering you to sit, but I think you should sit because… stuff."

Though still somewhat slackjawed, Elsa quickly regained her composure. "No… it's all right. I've already interrupted you enough – I think it's better if I just take a book and read in my study."

"…oh. Okay then."

There was no good reason to it, but Anna just felt… well. Downtrodden. She bit her lower lip, preparing to say goodbye to Elsa when she felt the couch shift and sag. Turning, she saw Elsa.

"On a second thought, I prefer the atmosphere of the library to my study, so I think I'll stay, if you don't mind," said Elsa, body angled so that her knees were turned towards Anna.

Holy crap she said yes!

Suppressing a mental shout that sounded like a cross between '_wooohoo!' _and '_holycrapIcan'tbelievethisishappening'_, Anna's hand darted to the box of chocolate, holding it in the empty space between her and Elsa. Despite successfully blocking any inappropriate victory cries from escaping her mouth, she couldn't stop herself from grinning.

"So uh, fancy some of the cheapest chocolates money could buy?"

Though knowing that logically she should be embarrassed for offering something as utterly plebeian to someone who could probably afford to sprinkle diamond dust on every one of her meals, Anna didn't feel anything remotely close to it. Somehow, she knew that Elsa wasn't someone who'd turn her nose up at something just because it wasn't the world's finest. Unlike the nobilities that Hans had so deftly mimicked.

She didn't know why she felt that way, but she knew it was true.

Her feelings were confirmed when Elsa had smiled at the sight of the box's contents, gingerly picking one up and taking a small bite out of it. "Thank you. I do love my chocolates; especially the ones with caramel nougat in the centre."

"Me too!" Whoa. Finally someone who shared her obsession with chocolates. She hoped Elsa wasn't just being polite, because once she started, she was definitely not going to shut up about chocolates. "In fact, I think we have some here…" Her fingers overed the box as she tried to single the caramel ones out of the others, "Aha. Here it is." She held it between her thumb and index and wiggled it tantalisingly, waiting for Elsa to take it.

"I'd love to, but I still have this one to eat," Elsa said, looking like she was conflicted about the choice. "Maybe I should finish this first?"

"Oh that's what you're worried about? No problem! Gimme that, I'll eat it."

Elsa stared blankly at her outstretched palm.

"But I've taken a bite out of it."

Her fingers wiggled. "So? We can't just throw it away, it'll be waste."

"Well… if you're fine with it."

Why was Elsa so reluctant? Did she not want to relinquish her chocolate? There were tons other in the box though, and Anna doubted very much they could finish it in one sitting, so definitely no scarcity there.

"I am."

With a sigh, Elsa finally, reluctantly placed the chocolate on her palm and took the other one. The chocolate was cold, no doubt kept from melting by Elsa's powers. How very convenient. She found herself wishing that she could do things with ice too, just for the sake of cooling down chocolates.

She tried to give Elsa a few moments to savour the chocolate, but unable to contain her excitement, she burst out, "do you like it? Is it good?"

That had earned her a little laugh from Elsa and Anna's world stopped. It was as if her senses had developed tunnel vision, and anything and everything was suddenly Elsa. The glow of Elsa's skin against the moonlight. The perfectly shaped cuticles on Elsa's perfect, slender fingers. The gentle slope of Elsa's shoulders. The sharp angles of Elsa's collarbones. The rosy tint of Elsa's lips.

Elsa.

Elsa.

"Anna?" Her mind snapped back to reality. Elsa was looking at her oddly. "I'm sorry, is there something on my face?"

"Huh?" And she realised that she was still staring at Elsa's lips. What was wrong with _her?_ But even knowing that something definitely wasn't right with her mind, it still took her several seconds to tear her gaze away and stare fixatedly at the nice grain of the table's wood instead.

What was wrong with _her?_

"So—sorry," she said at the table, "There's nothing anything on your face and I was totally not paying attention to your face too."

"…I see. But there is something on yours."

"Huh? Wha—"

Her sentence was cut short when she felt the pleasant tingle of fingers under her chin, softly moving it sideways and up, forcing her to stare at Elsa's face. Oh god those eyes. It was the same sort of blue as her own, but while on her it just looked ordinary, on Elsa it managed to just make her look… seductive. Maybe it was just her impossibly long eyelashes. Maybe Anna just had a thing for eyes. Maybe it was just how Elsa's simple murmur of "hold still" had immediately sent a jolt through her spine. Maybe it was just how the skin underneath Elsa's fingers had seemingly developed ultra-sensitivity, registering even the slightest shifts as earth shattering tremors.

Or maybe it was just chocolate rush. Yeah. Chocolate rush, she thought, clenching her legs tightly together. Her knee brushed against Elsa's and suddenly keeping her legs together seemed like the hardest thing to do in the world was to part them open and force Elsa's thigh against THINK OF PUPPIES, ANNA. THINK OF PUPPIES AND CHOCOLATES AND SANDWICHES AND ALL THE GOOD, NON-SEXUAL THINGS IN THE WORLD. And she did, closing her eyes tight, trying to think only about the cold nose of puppies and nothing more.

It worked for a bit and the throbbing lessened.

…until Elsa started to dab the corner of her lips with a handkerchief and Anna could only think about darting the tongue out and licking those fingers.

And thankfully before she could lose her mind and do exactly that, Elsa had withdrawn her touch and slid back into her place at the opposite of the settee, carefully folding the handkerchief back into a neat square.

Anna tried her best not to whimper, somehow wishing the handkerchief was her instead of the handkerchief.

"Maybe Kai was right."

"Uh?" Anna's mind was still recovering from having one too many screws forced loose from her brain.

"It's not a good idea being too close. I've messed up," Elsa continued quietly, fingers mindlessly tracing the edges of the now frozen handkerchief, "I should go now before it gets worse, but running off again would be unfair to you."

"Huh? I don't understand…" said Anna, who still wanted to be that handkerchief, frozen or not, as much as she wanted to know what the hell Elsa was talking about.

"Do you think a wound should be allowed to fester?"

Okay. Whatever Elsa was talking about, she had jumped from point A to point Z and Anna was totally, totally lost. "Uh… no? Why would you? It'll just get worse, won't it?"

"Amputation, then."

My _god_, that was morbid. How did they go from chocolates to amputation? But Anna was thankful too, because that word had managed to successfully kill any desire to become a handkerchief. "Maybe… it's better to avoid getting wounded at all in the first place? That way you don't have to chop anything off. I hope," she offered, still having no inkling what this was all about. Maybe Elsa was trying to learn how to do first aid. Who knows.

Whatever it was, it seemed to help, because Elsa had stopped fiddling with the frozen block of handkerchief. She set it onto the table and took the book, skimming through the pages until she'd landed on a page. "Cinderella, was it. Do you want me to read it to you? I have another copy around here somewhere so you can follow along. It would help your reading, I think."

All confusing thoughts about sexuality and chopping limbs off and whatever left Anna's thoughts as she replied with a resounding "yes!" and immediately set off to find that extra copy.

It was the best day ever. She got to meet a new friend _and _spend time with Elsa. Today was just so perfect; how could anything possibly go wrong?

**Continued**

* * *

A/N: So in this fic I've nicknamed a gate after Joan, wrote a few thousand words about sandwiches and another few thousand rambling about chocolates. Way too much Hans and way too much food, but 6.5k words. Thank god I cut last chapter short. I'm exhausted.

Thanks mucho for reviews and more are encouraged, mon cheries, even just to rave about chocolate. Which I don't like. Unless it's 98% dark.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

Elsa watched impassively as Kristoff's flail swung almost lazily in the air, going back down a split second later in a bone shattering impact against the man's knee. He crashed onto the shelf back first, crumpled, and she shot a bolt of ice to hold the shelf upright, transforming the ice into a makeshift pillar that ran from the floor to the ceiling's wooden beam.

"Last one," he said, grunting as he yanked the flail up, lifting the man's leg up in the air before detaching from ground bone and flesh. There was a dull thud of the man's leg hitting the wooden floor, and they ignored his screaming with practiced indifference. "Are we bringing this one back too?"

"Naturally," Elsa said. Her unhappiness at the decision didn't show: this man was a simple peasant, after all, and a brief questioning here would be just as productive as letting him fester in the dungeons. But protocol was protocol, and rebels had always been dealt with accordingly. Her forefathers made sure of that. She turned and gestured at the soldiers milling behind them. "Take him and the others back to the castle and make sure there's a physician to attend to their wounds."

"Yes, Your Majesty," one of the said as two of the others had started to move the man, each supporting the man upright with an arm between each of them. "Do you require an escort back?

"No. Field Marshall Bjorgman will suffice."

He saluted, took off after his men and their baggage, and moments later Elsa was alone with Kristoff. He was already thumbing through the documents on the table, knocked haphazard by brief brawl before. If it could even be considered a brawl. For alleged rebels, they were about as deadly as a kitchen sponge. She should be relieved, really.

"That bastard's playing a game."

Elsa looked at him. "The prince?"

"The bastard. A year's wage most of the Southern Isle's princes aren't even the King's blood," he said, the dim light catching his jaws as they clenched and unclenched.

And she simply wished he wouldn't say the word like it was filth, because she knew a bastard of her own; a girl that shone bright like a small sun, a girl who complicated her life dearly and should have been disposed of months ago, if only Elsa was as strong as her façade.

But Kristoff had his own reasons so she said, "don't let that sentiment go out of this room."

"It won't."

She nodded. The topic was effectively shut, swept away to be filed later in her mind (because even rumours and lies could be a spearhead of power, and she knew that all too well) as she went to the opposite of the table and unfurled a large parchment Kristoff hadn't yet touched.

A map.

Squinting at it, Kristoff let out a whistle. "Impressive," he said. "Pretty detailed for a bunch of illiterate criminals."

It was crudely drawn with a narrow charcoal stick, but Elsa had to admit that it _was_ quite detailed. "Almost as good as our architectural blueprints," she said. "Missing a few passages, but…"

She trailed off and he caught on immediately. "Good enough that it would warrant an insider's knowledge?"

"Someone with unfettered access, yes."

"Too many," Kristoff said, lips pursed, arms crossed. "Servants, maids, stewards. You. Me. Head Steward. Head Maid. Some other high ranked brass. Your spies…"

And Anna, she wanted to say. And Anna.

By then he was already counting with his fingers, popping one out with each name listed. Elsa was sure he didn't have enough fingers even if he started counting with his toes. Moral of the story? Security in castles was ridiculous inept for all the thick stones and moats, and nothing in the world would change that besides closing all gates and isolating them to the world.

It wasn't a viable solution.

"Too many," she said softly.

Having ran out of fingers, he begrudgingly agreed, looking almost as unhappy as Elsa felt, though she suspected for an entirely different reason. What she knew was for the correct reason, unlike hers. Sometimes she wished she had his unwavering resolve to protect their country, like how sometimes she wished she was merely a simple peasant untangled with the petty ploy of politics and power play, but she went through the motions of being a duty bound ruler and sometimes that had to be enough.

He sighed, ran his fingers through his messy hair. "You're right. And these documents hardly show us anything." He bent down and the sharp sound of parchments roughly moved around was deafening as he rifled through them, reading and discarding. Reading and discarding. "Requisition for weapons, supplies. Ledger. Pantry list. Stew… recipe. Something something potatoes." He threw his hands up in disgust, only stopping short to avoid raining parchments all around them. "If these don't scream farmers, I don't know what does."

"Regardless, bring them back. I want you to go through them with Kai – perhaps the two of you might find something useful we couldn't."

"_Him?_"

"Yes; him," said Elsa, very much aware of Kristoff's distaste for her Head Steward. "Unfortunately he is the only other person I trust with this other than you, Kristoff. So I would appreciate it if the both of you can set aside any differences just for one day, yes?"

His face twisted into a caricature of acute distaste, but regardless he acquiesced, stacking the documents into some semblance of order and tapping their edges against the table to level the stack. "Fine. And only because you asked so very nicely. Don't ever think I'm happy about this though, Els."

"I would never dream of that," she said, allowing herself a little smile at the nickname only he had ever used. And recently, Anna. She picked up the map, rolled it back against itself and propped it against the load of documents in Kristoff's arms. "You forgot this."

"Whoops. Thanks. You gonna question them yourself?"

"It would be more effective if I do." Because the threat of being frozen alive seemed to far outweigh the threat of various sharp implements. Elsa thought it didn't make sense, because she assumed that being frozen solid meant no sense of pain, but then again she'd never set herself on ice (and not for the lack of trying), so perhaps they had a point. The unknown would always be the greater fear, after all, and her powers went squarely into that territory.

"You should delegate sometimes. Heard it works wonders for your complexion," Kristoff said as he passed by her towards the door, kicking it open as he ambled towards the cold chill of night air, Elsa trailing behind him.

One day he'd allow her to pass by first, but years of training to protect was hard to undo, childhood friends or not.

"I think my complexion is no fault of my own. You can blame my parents for any perceived defect of my face," she said, watching him unload his baggage into the satchels tied to his horse.

He mounted his horse, snorting. "Yep. Totally blame them for letting Arendelle's greatest beauty go to waste from black eye bags. I would totally not get haunted by the vengeful ghosts of scorned parents."

Elsa chuckled. "Alas, flattery will get you nowhere, my lord. I'm spoken for and dully married to the throne. It could be quite the jealous spouse, if I may say so myself."

Then, not waiting for his reply to their banter, she stomped her foot onto the ground, bringing forth a circle of ice from which her stallion rose, veins of ice rippling into the fine of muscle and hair. It cracked, neighed and buckled its legs. She mounted it in one swift move, thankful that she had conjured something less dressy and more breechy as her attire today. Because even with pants and a familiar that did whatever she wished, horses were still too tall for her liking.

Once she was properly mounted, it stood upright, still as a statue if not for its frozen breaths.

"Show off," Kristoff said.

"Comes with the job, really." She mentally urged the beast to move, and moments later she was trotting side by side with Kristoff. "Say, would you like to join Anna and me for dinner? She misses you I think."

He brightened considerably at the suggestion, lips widening into a grin. "Of course I would. I miss her too. Never mind that I just saw her a few days ago; I swear that girl is like poppy tea to the mind."

"A suggestion?"

"Yeah?"

"Marry her."

Kristoff looked at her like she had just cartwheeled all around the throne room. "What the hell Els. And I thought I was the one making opium analogies here."

"Why not? You—" Elsa stopped from the jolt of a pothole. Once they were past that treacherous point, she began again, "you two clearly adore each other. And do you not want those nobles to stop sending their daughters after you? It makes a certain amount of sense."

And it would make her life so much easier.

"No it doesn't," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "I mean it does, but it'll be like marrying my own sister, really. I'd rather not. Besides, you should ask about her opinion first before pawning her off to other people. I doubt she'd very happy to know we were discussing her marriage without her knowledge."

"I don't need to ask. I can make it happen." And she would, if things come to shove. It was much better than simple slaughter, much more humane. But there was the logistics of marrying a woman of dubious origin, and there was the fact that she didn't know anyone as kind and noble and suitable to Anna as Kristoff were. The best bet was for her to fall in love with someone good enough for her, soon. Kai was becoming more vocal about her presence in the castle, and Elsa would loathe for those words to morph into something else entirely. She had no doubt that his loyalty didn't lie to her own person, but rather to the throne she was tied to. "But you're right. I won't push this any further."

For now.

"I don't like where your thought is going."

"Neither do I. But we're running late and Anna is grumpy when she's hungry, so let us not make her wait any longer."

With that, she sent her horse galloping forward, leaving Kristoff behind in a trail of dust and ice. It didn't take long before she heard the rapidly approached staccato of his own mount. Well then; let it be a race. She pushed harder with her mind and her familiar's gait increased.

She resisted the urge to laugh against the howl of the wind, relishing this childhood game they were playing as adults.

* * *

They found her in the dining hall. More specifically, Elsa found Anna in the dining hall, and Kristoff found himself being charged at nearly knocked over by a bear-like hug.

"Ouch. I missed you too and all, snowbug, but mind getting off me? Castle life's made you kinda heavy, y'know," Kristoff said, exaggerating a wince before he laughed uproariously and ruffled Anna's hair.

He patted her on the shoulder, and she finally disentangled herself, seemingly satisfied at the bout physical affection. "Don't blame me for that – never know when you'll be back every time you say goodbye."

"Not entirely my fault," he said, a jab of his thumb towards Elsa's general direction. "Blame my liege there. She's the one who works me like a horse."

Elsa didn't miss the shadow of suspicion in his eyes, a reminder of their previous talk, like how she didn't miss how Anna had spun around, as if she had just realised Elsa's presence. Like a third wheel or an unwanted presence, but she chalked it to Anna's enthusiasm at seeing her favourite person, and thought no more of it.

"Oh hiya Els. Sorry about that – kinda easy to miss you when you were trailing behind Kristoff. He's kinda like a mountain bear in that aspect. Kinda." Anna chuckled, self-abashed. Then said something that made Elsa wonder if she really _was_ acting as a third wheel. "Do you want a hug, too?"

"No, that's quite all right," she said, uncomfortable at the thought of receiving any hugs. Immediately regretted her words because just like all the times she had declined Anna's offer a hug, the girl gave Elsa the best kicked-puppy look in Arendelle. She felt like she had committed a crime, so she tried to offer an alternative. "Perhaps a… handshake?"

Kristoff's near hysterical laughter echoed through the dining hall, only cut short by Anna's swift kick to his shin. It must have been a formidable kick indeed, because he crumpled and started rubbing the kicked shin vigorously despite the leather boots. Perhaps allowing Anna horse-riding lessons was a mistake.

But regardless, Anna had skipped up right to her, took her hand in hers and started shaking it up and down vigorously, like long lost friends. Anna beamed up at her, freckles crinkling along with her nose. "Better than nothing, eh?"

"Indeed," Elsa said. Because despite her inhibition towards physical contact, it was nice, this feeling of not being feared. A nice change from the world outside this dining hall. She tried not to think of the implication the map held, tried not to let her need to interrogate Anna then and there to allay the niggling suspicion in her mind. That would wait until she'd finished questioning the men, or until she'd met with the prince and interpreted the undercurrents of his words coated slick with oil and charm. "We should start before the food goes cold. As soon as Kristoff is able enough to join us?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm… fine… maybe. My god you've really improved your kick."

Anna didn't spare him so much as a pitying look before she strode merrily to the table, taking her seat. Elsa followed suit behind her, with Kristoff last, still slightly limping. Their arrangement thusly: Elsa on the head of the table, Anna to her left and Kristoff to his right. A trifecta. _Her _trifecta. At least her trifecta didn't involve saying grace before meals – because her companions had already dug in with a gusto reserved only for intimate gatherings such as these. Elsa wasn't sure if she could survive a prayer before every meal…

A thought struck her. Taking a sip of wine from her goblet, she allowed it to play in her mind: connecting dots together, interposing suspicions and allegations and facts, pouring through her mental notes taken from the days she spent perusing dusty historical tomes. She tapped her nail against the table, mulling.

"Kristoff?"

"Yah," he grunted, apparently annoyed to be interrupted mid-chew, Queen or not.

"The Southern Isles are quite devout, aren't they?"

And any annoyance fled as the implication behind Elsa's innocuous question registered. It was not fondness that led her to bestow him the implicit trust as her right-hand subject; there was fierce intelligence hidden behind his bulky, muscle-bound physique, and the dissonance between his looks and his mind had more than once proven useful for her.

Still chewing as a motion to buy time, he cast a brief glance at Anna, who was still busy staring fiercely into her plate, cutting her steak up into mincemeat. He swallowed, and began cutting another piece off his steak in practised casualness.

"Sure," he said. "I'm sure the throne doesn't give a hoot about the dogma one way or another, but they do like to shake the church's hand. Olaf knows more about it than I do; you should talk to him."

Parasites clinging on to each other. Elsa had always known roughly how the relationship of the Southern Isles and the church went, but if it was any deeper than that, it would be quite troubling indeed.

She sighed, lifting up a fork and starting to arrange and rearrange the food on her plate based on colour. "I would, if he weren't busy prancing off in Corona stuck in lord knows which library."

"Huh." Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "Thought he would be back by now."

Her broccolis were starting to form a neat little three-by-three square on the plate. "And he was supposed to come back with you, but it seems the lure of strange, foreign books is a far greater prerogative than my orders."

"Maybe you should give him thirty lashes when he gets back. Disobeying the Queen and all. Capital punishment."

"Maybe I will."

Anna choked on her food, and they were both suddenly reminded of her presence.

"You're going to _whip _poor Olaf just because he likes to _read?_" she asked, aghast.

"Reading books in a _foreign_ country," Kristoff said, as if that was the entire point. "Wait, do you even know Olaf?"

Scarcely any moment passed before Anna said in resolute conviction: "Nope." Then continued, "But I think thirty lashes is a bit much just because Mr. Olaf decided he likes reading more than spending three weeks throwing up into the sea."

Kristoff in mock horror: "but he's not reading in _our _library."

And Elsa simply felt that both Anna and Kristoff had lost the topic before they even started. "We were just kidding, Anna. Olaf will not face any corporal punishment when he comes back, but he will be reprimanded, though not quite as severely as is warranted."

"Oh. Phew." Anna exhaled, placing a hand on her heart. "Though it's not like you would do it anyway, Els. Lashing people, I mean."

Elsa and Kristoff shared a look. He shrugged and continued with his steak, grabbing the block of butter meant for bread, cut half of it off and dumped it onto his steak. It was always best to turn away whenever his eating habit became too hard to witness, so she decided to focus on Anna and the implication behind her words instead. "Why do you think that?"

Mirroring Kristoff, Anna also let out a shrug. "Because you're nice."

"And why do you think that?"

At this Anna squirmed in her seat, clearly uncomfortable and at loss for words. "Because uhm…. Because you're pretty?"

And that might be the most off-kilter reason Elsa had heard about anything concerning her personality. "Beauty isn't the prerequisite for kindness," she said gently, not wanting this young woman to harbour any such dangerous misconceptions about the world. Her great-great-great grandmother was beautiful, too, but there was a reason Arendelle had only struck wealth during the aforementioned ancestor's reign, after all. Or why several other kingdoms were no longer on the map.

"I know that!" Anna blurted out. "I don't mean that I think you're nice just because of your looks. I'm just, uhm. Not really sure how to say this…" She paused, and Elsa remained quiet, allowing her to gather her thoughts. "I just think you're nice. You're nice to me, you're nice to Kristoff, and you're nice to your people, even if sometimes they're kinda… not. So call it a gut feeling?" She chuckled nervously, amidst the silence only broken by the clatter of Kristoff's utensils.

"That, too, is a dangerous conjecture," said Elsa, thumbing the stem of her goblet. "Power doesn't come from gut feeling. It comes from being cold and analytical; from hard facts."

And she wanted to laugh at the irony, because did the pleasant dinner they were having now belied that statement like antidote to poison? But that had nothing to do with the belief ironed into her by her father, and perhaps everything to do with her own personal weakness.

She'd grown soft. For all her bravado towards Kai, she'd gone soft.

"But that doesn't apply to me. I mean, I can't have power— and I'm not educated, so sometimes gut feeling is the only thing I've got going on for me." And Elsa noted how Anna had said can't instead of did not want, staring down at her hands as if to remind her of her own station in life. If only she knew, Elsa thought. She would never know. "And Elsa _is_ nice right, Kristoff?"

"She rules fairly," Kristoff said. Non-committal. "So yeah, I suppose that makes her nice. Hey, are you going to eat your mince—steak or can I have it?"

"Oh um. Yeah sure. Have at it, big guy. Still," said Anna as she slid the plate towards Kristoff, which was immediately accepted and the contents devoured, "I think you're nice and that's that. Despite what you and the glut here might think."

Foolish girl. Maybe Elsa should bring her along to question those men – let Anna see what she was truly capable of. Bring her to watch those men writhe on the chopping block. There was a lot she could do to stop that delusion, to wedge an even greater distance between them.

All in due time, even if deep within her something recoiled at such thoughts.

"I'm glad you have such unwavering faith in me, even if one day you might have a change of heart."

Like Kristoff's, it was the most diplomatic, gracious answer.

"I won't, because—"

Whatever Anna was about to say next was interrupted by Kristoff's abrupt rise from his seat. He took a large swig of wine, cleared his throat and said, "well then ladies. I gotta go. Gotta do knightly stuff, have that talk with the grumpy old man, and maybe find out more about this devout thing. I'll be there when you want to do the interview thing with uh, the good folks, and," he jabbed a finger towards Anna. "We'll continue our lessons tomorrow at noon. Don't be late."

Grinning, Anna gave him an overtly enthusiastic salute. "Sir, yessir!"

Kristoff chuckled. "Good girl. And I'll catch up with you tomorrow, Els."

"Be nice to Kai," Elsa said.

"Will do, will try." He clapped her on the shoulder and trotted off, his back disappearing as the doors closed behind him.

"Right," Anna said.

"Right," said Elsa.

"So about what I was saying before—"

"I think it's best if we drop that subject. In fact, there's something I want to discuss with you."

"Is it about my latest chocolate requisition?" Anna asked, brightening.

"No." And dimmed. "It's about your friend."

Anna's brows furrowed. "Friend? You mean Kristoff?"

"Hans," Elsa said levelly, taking another sip of her wine, her plate of food still untouched. "You've become quite friendly with this man. Perhaps you can tell me more about him?"

Anna's mouth formed a perfect O, agape even when the flush crept up her cheeks. "I—you know about my sneaking out? _How?_"

Well. Anna _was_ underestimating her, wasn't she. "Not much happens here without my knowledge. Especially not when your form of subtlety involves swinging wildly from the rafters and scaling boulders." Elsa sighed. "Really, Anna."

"Aha… yeah… that." Like so many times before, Anna began twirling her thumbs against each other, and it took everything for Elsa not to cup her hand over that nervous tic and say stop. It was her upbringing rearing its head, because there was no reason for Anna to follow her creed of concealing, and she envied her for it.

"Yes; that."

"Elsa? Are you… angry at me? For sneaking off?" Anna asked timidly, looking up at her from a curtain of heavy lashes.

Elsa was at once reminded of the scene in library those months ago, where she had made the mistake of being too physically close to Anna, had made the mistake of realising the reaction she had wrought upon the girl by simply being too close to her. She made herself not look away. "I'm not. I'm just disappointed that you're sneaking around my back. Rules exist for a reason, Anna, even if it seemed pointless."

She could see Anna visibly deflate. It was a cheap shot, one her father had used liberally, but it was effective. Disappointment was worse than anger in many cases, and this was one of them.

"I'm really sorry about that. But it just gets lonely here, you know. And having someone shadow me whenever I go out is just… stifling. I couldn't get used to it."

"I know." She did. She really did.

"Then tell me the point, Els. I'm dumped here, left blind and I've never once complained. I think I have the right to know one little thing about my circumstance; surely that's not too much to ask-" her voice was cracking, pent up thoughts and frustration bubbling through the seams. "If you're afraid of me running away, I won't. I have no reason to, or anything to go back to." It wasn't a lie. Rapunzel's missive had detailed every single reason why that could only be the truth. Even now, Elsa still had it locked within her desk should she ever feel the need to verify. "And don't give me the lie about protecting me, because someone like me doesn't have anything to protect against."

Fierce determination shone bright in Anna's eyes. It was certainly better than the mantle of resignation she had always worn, Elsa thought. She didn't know whether she should be proud or trouble at the new development. She could always lie, she supposed, but wasn't Anna right? Didn't she at least deserve a grain of the truth?

"If I say it's for my own protection, will you buy it?"

It was clearly an unexpected answer.

"I—" Anna started. Then exhaled. "I suppose so. It's not like you're going to tell me anything more, are you?"

"And that's for your protection. Perhaps one day, but not now. For now I want to you abide by the rules. You're free to meet up with this friend of yours, but only within the earshot of your assigned guard. Of course, the passage you were using to sneak out will also be barricaded," Elsa said. She would feel much better if that man named Hans didn't factor into the equation at all, but a background check turned out clean, and for now she had no solid proof to deny simple human companionship.

"Okay," said Anna dejectedly. "I would hate to trouble you after all you've done for me, after all. I promise I won't sneak off again."

And what had Elsa done for her besides unlawful imprisonment, Elsa wondered.

"Thank you. I appreciate that. But you're right."

"Huh?"

Elsa pulled at the string connected the servants' bell. "I would hate for you to spend your time in the castle alone. I have a gift for you."

As if on cue, right then the doors opened, revealing one of the butlers with a shaggy, pointy eared dog trailing after him obediently.

"OH MY GOSH!" Barely constraining her enthusiasm, Anna had nearly toppled the table over as she launched herself upwards, palms on the table as she ogled the dog. The butler had bowed and left, the dog had decided to take an impromptu nap on the floor when she could finally tear her gaze away from it. "You're giving me a dog?!"

"Yes," Elsa said, smiling despite herself at the childishness Anna displayed, "one of our own breeds. Best in his litter, I heard. Also trained by the kennel master himself, so he should be very well behaved. Just make sure to ask him about his care and training."

And Anna all but shouted: "of course! So can I uh, touch him?"

"Ask him to come."

"Oh. Okay." With only the briefest hesitation, Anna held out her hand and made a clicking sound with her tongue. "Comere, doggy doggy." More clicking.

Lazily, reluctantly the dog let out a big yawn and trotted off to Anna's waiting hand, sniffing it gingerly before giving her fingers a small lick. Anna squealed in delight and immediately went to hug it, stroking its head all the while. "Thank you Els! You have no idea how happy this makes me feel."

"I think I do. What are you going to name it?"

"Him, not it." Anna tut-tutted, taking into her new companion with unerring easiness. "Actually, I'm pretty terrible at naming things. The gate you wanted to barricade? I named it Joan. So yeah."

Elsa cringed. Out of all things. Joan? She supposed the dog should be spared a similar fate, so she threw out the first name that came to mind: "I don't know. Marshmallow." And cringed even harder. Out of all things. Food.

But Anna seemed happy with the suggestion, already christening the dog with the haphazardly chosen name. "Marshmallow then. You a good boy huh Marsh? Wanna sleep with me tonight? You'd make an awesoooome pillow don't'cha Marsh?"

Marsh. It was good enough, Elsa supposed. She glanced at the tag appended to Marshmallow's collar: made from ice she had conjured herself. It was more than simply decoration, because no gift in her world came without strings attached.

One day Anna might learn that lesson, but for now she had a meeting with a prince to think about.

* * *

A/N: PLOT YAY PLOT. AND SEMESTER BREAK YAY SEMESTER BREAK. Also, for all the suffering this Anna suffers, I gave her a dog. So that makes it all good.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: dark!Elsa rears its head, brief torture scene. Rating upped.**

* * *

**6.**

Elsa chose the man at random, going straight to lucky cell number three. She waited for the guard to unlock the door to the cell, then immediately entered after Kristoff, ducking down slightly as she dismissed him with a wave. The sound of the door closing and the jangle of keys turning against the lock came from behind her, and she knew she was locked up here alone with this man with only Kristoff as protection.

He was more than enough. Even without him shadowing her like a guard dog they all knew that nothing could harm her at this range, let alone a man whose knee had met Kristoff's flail, up close and personal. She took the stool lying in a corner and placed it near the man's pallet, then sat, cross legged. Kristoff remained standing, leaning back against the door with his arms crossed.

Then the waiting game began.

The first person to break the silence loses, her father had told her. Had showed her how he had won negotiations with Kings and commoners alike by the simple actions of keeping his gaze hard and his lips closed. Had shown her in both courts and cells like these, her always by his side, just as Kristoff was now. It was just human nature to be uncomfortable in silence, as if being left alone with their thoughts is a form of torture of its own.

She supposed it was. Not everyone could face the dark twists and turns their minds take without the distraction of outside stimulus. She could, but only through the virtue of diligent practice and acceptance that her thoughts were just as ugly as her powers. Anna could too, which was why she had been so comfortable in accepting Anna's company during those quiet times in the study. The woman would simply sit still, reading another one of her fairy-tales while Elsa would be bent over her desk perusing a stack of official documents. They were both comfortable in the lack of sound, but Elsa suspected it was only because Anna harboured no ill thoughts, because her mind was as good and untainted as driven snow; so very unlike the ice Elsa's powers created.

She envied Anna for that. Sometimes wondered, too, if she could be like that if her upbringing had been different. But it was a moot thought; as useless as this man's insistence on winning. Because well, if silence doesn't work, there's always pain. Another lesson from father.

So she sat still and waited, not even a single sigh escaping her lips. She watched as his gaze went from direct and indignant to unfocused and wandering. Watched as he pushed his side and back deeper into the corner of the wall, as he started scratching the wound on his knee and only stopped when it started oozing pus and blood again.

She watched and waited, and finally the man snapped. "You can stare all you want but I don't know anything!" His good knee jerked with his words, and still, Elsa waited. He started scratching the edges of his wound again, this time more vigorously, as if the act would expedite the passage of time. It didn't. "Okay okay _fine_. Look, you've got the wrong person – I'm just a grunt. They tell me what to do, I do it. I don't know anything, I swear."

That was enough. Silence could be golden, but too much and it would just be a lack of sound, which would be about as useful of it sounded.

"What's your name?" she asked. As if she didn't already know.

"Leif," he said sullenly.

"I don't think so. Please try again."

He glared at her, corner of lips tugging into the start of a snarl."

"Because I want to see if you're capable of speaking the truth. You can start now."

"…Jørgen. Adamsen."

"Twenty-seven. Carpenter. Father of five. Your wife, Nina is expecting another one on the way, yes?" Elsa said, reciting the facts just as she had memorised it. When he didn't reply she continued, "you have so many things to live for, Adamsen, and you're throwing it all away just to dethrone me. For something so little?"

"What's 'little' for you means the world to us. But I suppose you wouldn't understand the plight of the common peasant, sitting all high and mighty in your throne like a useless greedy wench." The sound of Kristoff's chainmail scraping against the stone wall rang loud, and she could see a shadow of his movement from the corner of her eye. She held out a hand, signalling him to stand down. That it was okay, because it was nothing she hadn't heard before.

The man must have mistook it as timidity: that the Queen was all bark and no bite, because he then launched into a tirade, long winded and trite. "Where were you when the earthquake hit us so hard half of my village lost their homes, reduced to begging in the streets? Or when the brutes from Weselton trampled over our crops, stole our foodstock, took our women? Where were you? You're only ever there when there's something to slaughter." He laughed, a little bit mad. "In fact, tell you what. If I go home and tell my wife I've just met the mighty Queen Elsa without a hint of blood on her clothes, she might just be so surprised she'd have a miscarriage! You're about as bloodthirsty as you're useless. What a waste of a pretty face. I wonder how many men you've bedded? Is that why you're a spinster? Because one man isn't enough for you?"

Once again Kristoff moved, and Elsa could see the snarl on his face, no less ugly than this man's. He started towards the pallet, fists clenched. "How dare you, you piece of—"

"That's enough, Field Marshal. Stand down."

His mouth opened and closed, wanting to say something but ultimately knowing that saying anything but yes, my Queen would be a show of defiance against Elsa's authority. So he gave a small bow and said, "yes, my Queen," and went back to his space at the end of the cell.

It wasn't as if she enjoyed parading her position, but they were playing the role of a ruthless monarch and a subservient knight, just like how this man had casted her in the role of a tyrannical dictator. They all had a part they must play, and Elsa supposed she was obliged play hers until the end. Although at times like these it was just too easy to fantasise about throwing her tiara at Anna, tell her 'hey! Guess what? You're my sister and you're the Queen of Arendelle now! Have fun while I go run to some other part of the world and have a jab at playing the peasant!'.

But well, she couldn't. It was much too cruel of a role for Anna to play.

Resisting the urge to sigh, she leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee. "I'm sorry you think that way," she said, not bothering to justify her actions. Her father never did. "So tell me, Adamsen. How exactly do you play on dethroning me with this small rebellion of yours?"

He spat on the floor. Amusing, she thought. Despite all his words he hadn't the gall to spit on _her_. All bark and no bite. "Eat shit, my Queen."

This time she didn't repress the urge to sigh, and she did. She reached out and touched the man's wounded knee. At once ice formed from the point where her fingertips touched his skin, spreading into a thin sleet to cover the entirety of his wound. It was the mildest, warmest ice she could manage. Like an ice pack: enough to dull the senses, but not enough to hurt.

The man (Adamsen, she told herself. Adamsen. Because remembering people's name made her feel more human, even just a little) stared at his knee in shock, but soon recovered when he realised that it was just a form of anaesthesia. He stared straight at her and laughed mockingly, becoming bolder by the second. "That the best you can do, Your Majesty? I expected more after all the stories, but I guess you're just a useless—"

"No. That's just to stop it from distracting you."

She grabbed his forearm and all words and prepared insults died, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated horror, jaw hanging open as he stared at his arm, now frozen solid from his fingertips up to his elbow. A far cry from the mild anaesthetic ice on his knee. It couldn't even be called an arm anymore, really. She'd frozen everything: tissues, bones, nerves, blood vessels. She supposed it hurt. Or not. Pain wasn't really the objective anyway.

Removing her hand, she said, "care to try that again? Who leads your men?"

"I—I. I don't. I don't know," he stuttered, all the fire gone. Too shocked and terrified for anything else.

"Wrong answer," she said, pinching his index finger, snapping it off even as she ignored the twisting in her gut. She placed the finger on the pallet beside his thigh. "A mere tap will shatter your arm into pieces, Adamsen. I suggest you pick your next words well." And I'm sorry. So sorry, she wanted to say. She couldn't.

At least there must be no pain, because he didn't scream. Didn't even cringe. It was just shock coursing through his body, rendering him speechless. Paralysed. She was glad for it.

"I—I don't- my finger-"

"Ten fingers, ten chances, Adamsen. Please don't make it harder than it should. This is the easiest I can do, so I would appreciate it if you don't goad me to more. For the sake of us both."

"I'm telling you I don't know! I don't know so please don't _do this to me!_" he all but shouted, at the verge of hysteria.

Elsa snapped his ring finger, laid it besides the other one. "Try harder."

His next words were thrill. "A man! Told us he had a plan, he could make it happen. Had an army he said. Armed us but never told us anything else about his plan I swear!"

"Name?"

"I don't—"

Snap. Another one to join the two.

"Godfuckingdamnit Hans! HANS!"

Hans. Of course. Too soon to surmise if it was Anna's Hans he was talking about. It was a common enough name, after all. Nonetheless, it was a start.

"Last name."

"I DON'T _KNOW! _Please not another finger oh god they're my livelyhood how am I to feed my family now they're going to starve so please not another finger-"

"I believe you," Elsa said, believing that he truly didn't know anything just as she believed that his family would go hungry without him. She'd already arranged a form of compensation for all the families of the men they had rounded up. It was the least she could do. Just one more question. "Tell me about the map we found. There were passages no one should know about besides those closest to me. Did Hans also inform you of those?"

He kept silent, lips quivering, his good hand covering his face. She leaned back and gave him time. Finally he dropped his hand and looked at her straight in the eye.

"If I tell you you'll stop this? You'll let me go back to my family?"

"That depends on your answer but yes," Elsa lied. "I will."

"It's the girl he always brings around."

"Name."

"Anna."

She felt her arms go limp, felt like the all the breath had been sucked out of her lungs. She looked at Kristoff, and wondered if his expression mirrored her own.

"…describe her. Please." She forced her voice to be calm and steady, even when she had started circling her thumbs against each other on her lap, hands shaking.

"Red head. Freckles. Blue eyes like yours."

Oh, _Anna_.

* * *

"_Damn it, Kristoff!_ I already have enough of Kai questioning my every decision, I don't need _you_ to do it to!"

The jar of ink tumbled and fell from the impact of her fist against the desk, staining documents black as the spilled ink trailed slowly, almost lazily down the edge of the desk and onto the carpet. Neither of them paid it any attention. Tension wound tight, strained like a cord about to break.

Kristoff leaned forward, ran his thumb against the line of her jaw, trailing slowly down from the ridge below her ear to the slope below her lips. It lingered there, and Elsa felt a gentle tingle as his thumb brushed against her lower lip. There was this moment, this single electrifying moment when she felt the overwhelming need to hold his hand against her cheek, to simply fall into his embrace and let him tell her that everything was all right and she was doing _fine_ and everything would be all right. Like how he had in those nights they spent together, all those years ago.

The moment passed, and Elsa pushed his hand away. "Don't," she said, trying hard not to choke at that single word. "We're not – we're not this anymore."

Sighing, he withdrew his hand and leaned back into his chair. Ran his fingers through his hair. It was his own personal tic, the tell-tale of his distress. "I'm sorry, Elsa. I just- forgive me. I just—_god._ I can't believe it. Not _her_."

"Neither can I," Elsa said. She took a piece of parchment and attempted to wipe the ink off, only to smudge it further. The stain was like abstract painting on her desk, and she felt like throwing everything off the goddamned table, like screaming her lungs out at the northern winds. A storm had started outside but she found herself beyond caring, not when her world was tumbling down like this. "But you heard what he said."

"Well he's a bloody liar then! Snap a few more limbs and I'm pretty sure he'd be singing a different song."

"He's telling the truth," Elsa said softly, suddenly feeling so, so tired. "You know it. I know it."

He grunted. Downed his wine in a single gulp. Poured more into his goblet and drank it all again. "_Goddamnit!_" His knuckles are white against the goblet, and Elsa was afraid it might shatter in his hand. Like her, he must be resisting to strike something, anything.

God; how she wanted to just let loose with her ice, piercing everything in sight. She wanted to be in Kristoff's arms; she wanted Anna in her arms; she wanted to pretend that this was all just a nightmare. It was all a tangled jumble, and she was too tired to unravel it.

"I hate being Queen," she said. "Tired of being Queen."

It was the first time she had admitted it out loud, but there was just too much happening just as there was too much alcohol coursing in her blood.

"I know," said Kristoff simply. "Don't do this to her."

"I don't have a choice."

"You do. You always do. What's the fucking use of being a Queen if you can't even have a choice?"

"It's precisely because I _am _one that I don't."

"BULLSHIT!" It was both of his fists that struck the table this time. His goblet swayed dizzily on the base of its stem before he stopped it with a palm to the rim. She let hers fall onto the floor. Not even the willpower to be angry anymore. She felt empty. "Think with your head, Elsa! Do you _really_ think she can betray you? Even once thought of betraying you? God if only you could hear how much she fucking idolises you, not even once shutting about how nice and awesome and whatever you are. Did you even notice how she looked at you? She loves you, Els. That stupid girl is in _love _with you."

Of course she did, and it had weighed on her conscience like a sack of stones ever since. "I know. But it's just infatuation. It'll pass by soon." As soon as Anna would just realise that Elsa was merely a monster, not the kind, benevolent Queen she had conjured the fantasy of.

"Infatuation that lasts for months? If it's just that I'll eat my goddamned shoes."

Elsa shrugged. "Lust, then."

A hand massaging his temple, Kristoff craned his neck back, staring at the ceiling as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. "You're being difficult," he said to the ceiling. "_Fine_. Pretend that's never a factor. Why would someone like Anna do anything like that? She's the sweetest girl I know – we could probably kick her puppy on the face and she'd still forgive us the next day."

"She has every reason to betray me."

Kristoff's head snapped back down, his mouth open. As if he couldn't believe what Elsa had just said. "What the hell?"

"She's my sister."

"Aha… _right_." His face was scrunched up in a way that suggested he wasn't quite sure whether to laugh or to be horrified. "I'm sorry – I must've missed that. Care to run that by me again?"

Well, it was time, she supposed. Kristoff deserved to know. _Anna _deserved to know, if she hadn't already. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was just the selfish need to unload some of her burdens to another person.

"I found out about her existence while perusing the diaries mother kept. Father impregnated one of the maids who worked here. They gave her money and sent her away when she was heavy with Anna. Classic tale, really. No doubt something you'd have heard a dozen times before."

She didn't tell him the part where their marriage had crumbled or the part where her mother had discovered his other illicit affairs (all without children, as far as her mother knew) or the part where her mother had started blaming the King's infidelity on Elsa's aberration. It was another story for never.

She continued, "so I sent you and Olaf to take her back here. Easier to keep a potential threat running inside my walls than outside it. Guess I was wrong."

"I—_god. _I… I think I need something stronger than wine." Kristoff wiped his face with his hand, speechless. "Do you… think she knows? Is that why she's doing this?"

"Perhaps. Also irrelevant. It's not why we should be concerned about, but how. Damage and mitigation."

Mitigation. To what, exactly? Lies, lies, lies. It was definitely just the alcohol talking, but right then Elsa couldn't give a single care for the throne. It was _herself_ she was trying to protect, not the intangible chain coiled around her, mooring her to an oversized chair like an anchor. Because the image of Anna's face, the simple thought of it looking at her with spite and hatred was enough to—

To nothing.

It was just the alcohol talking.

She bent down and picked the fallen goblet, tipping it upside down to empty the remaining liquid. Drops of wine joined the ink stain on the carpet, and really, who cares. She took the bottle off Kristoff's side of the desk and poured it full. She drank half of the wine. Set the goblet down. Picked it up again and emptied it.

Poured another batch.

"She's your sister," Kristoff said, then repeated it several times under his breath. "And she loves you. Wow."

"Infatuation." And maybe it isn't so one sided after all, a small voice added, but she squashed it like she would squash a bug under her shoe. And who said anything about thinking of Anna as a sister? Maybe she needed to stop drinking. She took another sip. Several other sips. She felt like curling up into herself. It would be nice if tomorrow simply never came.

"I think… I think I understand why you're so adamant about your decision," Kristoff started again, his voice becoming a distant buzz: a humdrum of noise. "But it doesn't make it right."

"Nothing I do is ever right."

"True; you can never make everyone happy, and it applies for you more than anyone else. But still. Promise me you'll talk to her first? That you won't do anything rash without knowing the absolute truth? You always have a choice, remember that."

But she didn't. Like Adamsen's, her choice was sealed the moment she had said, "I will."

"I will," she said. Foolishly hoping it wasn't a lie. Knowing full well it was a lie.

For the first time in her life she ignored the documents stacked on her desk, choosing the hazy fog of alcohol instead.


	7. Chapter 7

**7.**

Anna drew her cloak tight around her, Marshmallow padding alongside her strides.

"Yeah don't give me that look, Marsh. I know it's weird too, because who arranges a meeting this early in the morning? It's practically still night-time." He barked at a passing rabbit. She shrugged. "The Queen, in case you're wondering. You remember her? She's super nice. And dreamy. And she has like, those super pretty dresses. Made from _ice_. I know you've met her. Briefly. But you should meet her again. You'd totally be charmed off your pants – I mean, if you had any. Do you want some pants, Marshmallow? I think I can try to make you some. Does it get cold being naked all the time?"

And so on, and so on. She kept blabbing to Marsh, just to fill the silence and ward off the cold. Also because as much as she loathed to admit it, the trek to the stables from the castle could be pretty creepy in the dark, what's with the tall trees and lack of living beings besides them and a passing rabbit and whatnot.

"—and she _loves_ chocolate. I mean you'd imagine someone like her would like something classier, like those duck liver… thing… foy grass? Or something. Fwa. Fwoei. Anyway, I like chocolate too. We both like the ones with nougat inside — I'd let you try some but I heard chocolates kill dogs, so I'm hope you're happy with meat… and hey we're here!"

The stable's light shone bright against the dreary night sky, promising all sorts of good things like beautiful horses, fluffy hay and the very, very warm fireplace in Oaken's quarters. Maybe she could convince Elsa to huddle in front of the fireplace instead of doing whatever Elsa wanted to do. Yep. That'd be a good plan.

"Yoo hoo!"

And like some kind of wonder, the owner of said fireplace was waiting in front of the building, he opened his arms wide and Anna went for the kill, breaking into a run and landing straight in his arms. He squeezed her tight, she squeezed him tight, and they whirled in a circle until she became dizzy.

It was a strange ritual they concocted after a day of bonding over horses, both of which she enjoyed very much.

"Good to see ya, Oaken!" she said, beaming up at him as they parted. "How's the new mother doing?"

"Bluebell? Good good. Very healthy foal ja? Expect to be very fast. Like shooting star. Maybe we name him Shooting Star."

"Awesome! I can't wait to meet him and cuddle him and kiss him and teach him awesome stuff!"

"You will; but for now the Queen is waiting, ja? Let's go inside then we talk, ja?"

"Ja!"

"Good girl." Oaken grinned back, and together they went inside, the strong smell of horses immediately hitting her nostrils. It was a comforting smell for her, but she was a bit worried about Marsh. He'd never set foot near the stables so she wasn't sure how he'd react. She kept her gaze on the ground, trained at him. But it seemed like there was nothing to worry about, because even when a horse neighed loudly nearby, he kept with his stoic doggy stride, walking in front of them like he owned the place. Anna was about to breathe in relief when he decided to take yet another one of him impromptu naps, this time on someone's foot.

Anna didn't need to look up. Only needed to see the icy blue fabric fanned around said feet to know who they belonged to.

"It seems like he's quite fond of me," Elsa said. She gave a small smile, and Anna felt her heart skip a beat. "I apologise for summoning you so early in the day. I trust you slept well?"

"Wow you look like crap today," Anna blurted out. Realising what she'd just said, she immediately clamped her hands above her mouth, looking around to see if any of the horses would be as kind as to maybe rear kick her to death.

None of them were. Oaken was already in a stall, pretending to check on Frey, a white Arabian even as his shoulders shook violently. Then she noticed that Kristoff was there too (but then again it was hard to notice anything else when Elsa was around), uncharacteristically silent in the face of Anna's faux pas. In fact, he wasn't even looking at her, staring at nothing with his arms crossed. He looked about as bad as Elsa did, dark skin under their eyes. They looked… frayed. Like something terrible had happened and they had been up all night thinking about it.

Anna was too busy wondering to correct her outburst and Elsa said, "has anyone ever told you you're too honest for your own good?"

Was she angry? Anna hoped to dear god she wasn't angry. She looked at Elsa's face to see any tell-tale of anger, but trying to gauge Elsa's expression was like trying to cut water. So she decided the best bet is to answer the question first, then apologise. "Yeah; way too many times. I'm sorry I offended you. I didn't mean you look ugly or anything. Just kinda tired. Really tired, actually. Are you and Kristoff okay?"

"I wasn't referring to that. And yes; we're both fine," Elsa said. Her voice had a certain sense of distractedness to it. "Oaken, did you prepare the horses?"

"Ja, this one is here," he said, appearing from the stall, holding Frey's reins with one hand.

He deposited him in front of the stall and went off again, disappearing into another stall and reappearing with a horse Anna hadn't seen before. It stood beside Frey, chestnut hair gleaming in the light.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Anna said, eyes widening. She wanted to stroke his mane, but after sporting a bandage for a week after she had done exactly that to a different horse, well, she'd learned her lesson.

"_She_," he corrected her. "Trader brought her a week ago. Not a good warhorse, this one. Too calm. You can touch her, too lazy to bite."

Anna was about to do exactly that when Elsa stopped her. "Later, Anna." She nodded at Kristoff and he sighed, grabbing the saddle bags from the floor and promptly went to fix them onto the Andalusian.

Those were _big_ saddle bags, and Anna wondered exactly how long Elsa was planning to ride. She also wondered why Kristoff hadn't spoken to her yet. She couldn't recall doing anything wrong.

"Hey Kristoff? Are you angry at me? Did I do something wrong?"

There was a brief fumble as he fastened a strap but he kept his silence. She decided to wait, not wanting to distract him with inane questions. Finally, with the last of the straps fastened he turned towards her, said, "be safe, okay? I love you," and pulled her into a brief, fierce hug.

Before she can react he'd broken free, striding out from the stables, from her sight. It was an odd parting word. Somewhat final.

"What's wrong with Kristoff?" she asked Elsa. "Did he hit his head on something?"

"Perhaps," Elsa said. Non-committal. Sweeping past Anna, she went to Frey and hooked a foot on the stirrup, mounting him. "Get on the horse. We're already running late."

Running late at five in the morning. Man, today was just getting weirder and weirder. Anna did as she was told. "So uhm. What are we going to do, exactly?"

"A picnic."

She looked down at Marsh, imagining that he shared the same confusion beneath those closed, napping eyes. What.

* * *

In the end it didn't take them long at all to reach the 'picnic' spot. Marsh was barely out of breath, even though he'd run behind their horses all the while. Quotation marks, because no proper picnic happens before the sun was even up. Maybe those bulging saddle bags on her horse contained blankets. Anna hoped with all her might they contained blankets, because she was kinda freezing.

They were up on a hill overlooking the port, just slightly outside the city limits. It _was _a nice enough space, if she could see anything besides the moon and the ocean's inky blackness. Once again she drew her cloak tighter, wrapping her arms around herself.

She took a seat on one of the tree's jutting roots, pulling the tail of her cloak close to her knee. She wasn't sure if her butt would survive contact against the freezing root. Marsh followed suit, sitting close to her. "Isn't it a bit early for a picnic? Like, maybe seven hours too early?" she asked, arm automatically pulling him in closer. Warm dogs were only second to warm pies, in Anna's opinion.

"It's not a picnic."

"Excuse me?"

Elsa barely spared her a glance as she opened one of the bags, ruffling through it to produce a narrow, rectangular box. Using her arm and hip to pinch the box in place, she fastened the bag shut again and turned, heading towards Anna's spot. Anna scooted sideways to offer some of the root for her to sit on, but there was no need to, of course. Elsa had made a stool out of thin air, seating herself on it like it was her throne instead of a makeshift stool in the middle of nowhere.

The regal way she had always carried herself never ceased to amaze Anna. She wondered if it was because of Elsa's upbringing or Elsa herself, because even if Anna was raised to be a Princess or a Queen or whatever, she doubted very much she'd be able to carry herself like Elsa did. Even the simple act of untying a box's ribbon made her look Queenly.

Sometimes she'd daydream about different worlds. Worlds where Elsa was born as a commoner, worlds where she'd been born a Princess. Just worlds where the distance between them wasn't so great, where she'd have the smallest, tiniest chance to be with Elsa, really.

But well, dreams are just that: dreams.

Elsa had finished untying the box. Letting the ribbon fall onto the ground, she offered the box to Anna. "I wanted to give this to you. Open it."

It was a beautiful box, made from some kind of thick, dark brown wood with an ornate grain. Anna slid her fingers through the Arendellian royal symbol on the lid before popping it open, its hinges giving away smoothly. A ring and a single letter lied on the velvet linings.

Confused, she looked at Elsa. "I don't understand?"

"Those are father's."

"Your dad? Why give them to me?"

"Read the letter."

_Okaaaay_. Now this is getting weird, she thought. Regardless, she obeyed, sliding the letter from underneath the ring. It was tinged with yellow, as if it had been there for a while. _Anna_, it read above the wax seal. Weird simply didn't cut it anymore. But well, the only way to know just what exactly was happening was to move forward, so she broke the seal, unfurled the parchment, held it under the moonlight, squinted, and read:

_Dear Anna,_ it began.

_This will never reach your hands, and if it did, I am truly sorry, for it means something unforeseen would have happened. I sincerely wish it is nothing that bodes ill to you, Anna. I could never be a father to you, but I do love you as a father might, if given the chance. Please believe me when I say I did not send you and your mother away without a heavy burden. Elinda makes for a jealous wife and Queen; a difficult woman made cruel more so after Elsa was born. A bastard's life will not be easy in her courts and even now she is still half-mad with jealousy. Sending you both away is the correct choice, even if it wounds me dearly._

_Your mother is bold as she is beautiful, and I do love her greatly. It kills Elinda, I think, to know that her husband had loved another woman like he could not love her. It kills her to know that I will gladly give you and your mother a place in our court, raise you alongside Elsa as her equal. You will like Elsa. She is your sister, three years older than you. Her powers are volatile but she is kind. Too kind to be Queen. I fear that I must temper this kindness out of her, because there is no place for kindness in a Queen. It will be easier for her if you are there to help her rule come the time._

_Alas, that is not to be. A Queen's life is fraught with danger and treachery. It is enough that one of my children must bear such a life, I hope that yours is a happy one. Regardless, if by any chance the both of you should meet, it is also my hope that she will treat you with kindness as you, her. You and Elsa will carry my name with honour, of that I am sure. _

_I am sure of it, which is why I would very much wish to end this this letter here, to part ways with kind thoughts. I do not wish to write, even think of this, but if something happens to Elsa before an heir is born, or if she proves to be an unfit ruler, I have entrusted this letter to my most loyal servant, Kai. This letter will be contained inside a box, along with a ring. My ring. It is the Arendellian tradition to give a ring for each royal child, to prove their legitimacy for the throne. For reasons obvious, I cannot have one made for you. Should anything were to happen, my letter and ring will prove your lineage beyond doubt. I trust you will make the correct choice._

_I will always love you, Anna._

_Your father, Rasmus._

For a long while, Anna stayed silent, eyes fixed on the letter even as she had finished reading it. Finished reading it twice. Thrice, internalising each words until she'd felt she could recite it by heart. Finally she set it aside, took the ring out of the both. It was dawn then, the beginnings of sunlight bouncing lazily against the metal filigree. The same pattern as the seal wax.

"Anna?"

She cocked her arm, then threw the ring right at Elsa's face.

Maybe it was anger, maybe it was shock, maybe it was just the _unfairness_ of it all, but whatever it was that spurred her to throw the ring, she didn't care. She didn't care if it landed right into the sea or if it clocked Elsa right on the head. Nothing mattered anymore, not when the biggest revelation in her life was thrown right at her face with the subtlety of a knife to her guts.

She felt a prickle in her eyes, vision starting to blur from the tears. Marsh whined, sensing her distress. She stood up, ignoring him. It must've been a moment of madness, because all she wanted to do right then – all she wanted to do was hurt this so-called sister of hers, hurt her just like Anna was hurting. She tensed her calves, felt her lips curl into a snarl. Then, with as much force as she could summon, she launched forward, aiming straight at Elsa. At once they toppled together like two newborn foals, Elsa's back hitting the ground with a loud thud, Anna on top of her, holding her down by the shoulders.

Her shin had hit the stool during her fall, sending a dull ache up her leg. She ignored it, focusing her entire wrath at Elsa and Elsa alone.

"Is this why you've kept me here? All those skirting around, all those deflection and _this is why?!_"

"Yes," Elsa said simply, staring up at her with those furiously calm eyes. Like Anna's plight and pain meant absolutely nothing to her. "I'm sorry."

"_I'm sorry? _That's the only you can say after all—after all of this? You whisked me here, kept me in the dark for god knows how many months, suddenly tell me I'm your sister and I'm sorry is all you can say?!" Anna's voice rose into a shriek and even then, Elsa remained impassive.

"Yes."

The world had thrown a lot of Anna, and all those times she had simply lain down, accepting every word, every look, every hand raised with her head bowed. Partly because she was told over and over again that she deserved nothing more, and when you were told something enough times you'd start to believe. Partly because it was nice, believing those words. She had taken them to heart, created her own little barricade of inaction that protected herself against everything that's not her. The letter was a blow against that barrier, cracking it like it had cracked something deep inside her. Stretched to its limit, it finally snapped bringing forth all the things she had kept suppressed for so long.

She reeled her right hand back, then brought it back down, the force of her palm against Elsa's cheek rung loud and hollow.

Her breaths were harsh in her ears: ragged, hitched. It didn't help that she'd started crying too, tears dotting the ground dark, falling on Elsa's upturned cheek. As if her tears had been the catalyst, all the anger she'd felt before was suddenly gone, replaced by the feeling of unadulterated shame. All those years she'd borne with dry eyes and it was _now_ her body had chosen to react?

"_Goddamnit_," she said, ashamed of her reaction, of having hit Elsa for something that was entirely not her fault. "I'm so so sorry Els, I shouldn't have – I hit you. Oh god—"

She wanted to say more, grovel and beg for forgiveness but she felt warmth on her cheek, Elsa wiping the tears away with her thumb. "It's all right Anna. I don't blame you; I clearly deserve it." Her thumb slid sideways, joined by the rest of her digits as she cupped Anna's cheek, the warmth of her skin flush against Anna's. "Please stop crying. It pains me to see you like this."

"I can't—I can't help it," Anna said between sniffles. "It's just too much right now. Finding out about my dad like this. I've always wondered about him but now… I wish I'd never found out at all. I don't know what to think."

"You don't need to think at all. We both share the same father, there's all to it."

It was seemed like the simplest thing in the world, when Elsa said it like that. She felt the beginning of anger rise again, but promptly buried it deep down. Anger was of no use to her right now; what she needed was. Was what? What did Elsa expect her to do with the information?

"What am I to do?"

"Get off me, perhaps? I would love to discuss this at length with you, but sadly I've lost the feeling of my legs."

Anna looked down. Realised that not only was she straddling the Queen, she had also been crying _while_ straddling her. At least the ridiculousness of the situation had effectively shut her tear ducts down, and she scampered right off Elsa, allowing the blood to once again circulate through Elsa's legs.

"Sorry, I hadn't realised… yeah."

"Don't apologise," Elsa said as she rose, massaging her thighs through the fabric of her dress. "But you've stopped crying, at least, I'm glad."

Averting her gaze, Anna wiped the last of her tears with her sleeve. "I still can't believe we're sisters. If only you'd told me this sooner…"

"It was never the right circumstance," she heard Elsa say. "Now that you know, what do you plan on doing?"

"I dunno. What do you think I'll do?"

"Bring the letter and the ring, show it to the court. Take my throne, perhaps? I think they would be happy to have you as Queen instead of me."

Her gaze snapped right back towards Elsa, her mouth hanging happen. If their position had been ridiculous, then Elsa's words had taken the cake. "What the hell? Why would I do that?"

They locked eyes, and only then had Anna realised Elsa's eyes were not only the same sort of blue as eyes, but the exact same colour. It all made sense now. Everything fell into place with a click, Elsa's odd suggestion, too. Of course. She was the bastard child. A threat to the throne. No wonder it had taken her this long to learn about her heritage. Knowledge is power, Elsa had said. It was a power Anna wanted no part of.

"Do you not want to?"

"I don't," she said firmly. "So if you're afraid I'm after your kingdom, don't."

"Do you really mean that? Don't fear me, Anna. Tell me the truth – I will not do you harm."

"I don't. I might just be a bas—" she tumbled over the word. Tried again. "A bastard, but it doesn't mean you can accuse me of something like that. That really hurts, Els." And it did. It was as if all these months, all the words and silence they shared meant nothing.

Elsa sighed. "I never meant to," she said. "Truthfully, I did have my suspicion. Something… happened, you see, and I was forced to doubt you. I'm glad those doubts are unfounded."

Something happened? That was something too vague for an allegation so serious. "What happened? Tell me."

"You probably don't—"

"I insist."

Elsa didn't immediately answer, brows knitting as she seemed to mull her words. When Anna felt like she couldn't wait anymore, Elsa finally spoke. "I heard wind about a small rebellion forming. Kristoff and I apprehended them and we brought them back to the castle…"

She trailed off, and Anna had to prod again to keep her going. "And?"

"And I interrogated them."

"Okay…"

"They said you were supplying them information about the layouts of the castle. _Intimate_ details, the only kind only very select people should know. Ins and outs that would prove to be very dangerous if it should be used for the wrong purpose. I knew about your penchant for exploration, so it's quite natural—"

"Quite natural MY ASS!" Anna burst out, wishing she had another ring to throw at Elsa's stupid face. "What the hell! And you _believed_ them?! What the hell! Why on earth would I do that?!"

"Please Anna—"

"Oh don't you _dare_. I thought you were everything a Queen should be, but really you're just so afraid of losing your throne you're willing to use anyone as scapegoat, aren't you? You know what, I'm sick of defending you. They're right; you're just as ruthless and conniving as they say. You're a goddamned piece of work, you know that?"

And if her goal was to hurt Elsa as she'd hurt her, well, she'd succeeded. There was this brief moment where Elsa's face had twisted, distorting her usual placid expression into something else entirely. Anna recognised it as anguish.

"I do. I'm glad you've finally recognised me for who I really am." She smiled, and Anna realised that her smiles never quite reached her eyes. Not even once.

Anna's first reaction was to once again apologise, but frankly she was sick of it. Sick of the see-saw between anger and guilt and anger (_and love_) like a fool. She felt betrayed, because here was her standing in front of the woman whom she thought she'd loved, only to have her admit that she'd think of Anna as nothing more than a treacherous coward.

"Well? Why don't you just go ahead and execute me like you did to those countless others then? I bet that'd be easy for you – I've heard enough to know the human life means nothing to you."

It was a low, low blow, even for her. But the indignation from feeling betrayed was winning the see-saw and she was determined to let it stay that way. Call it petty, but she felt like she'd earned the right to be angry, just once in her life.

"It would be an easier choice, yes. I won't lie by saying I've never thought of it. Seriously considered it, even." God; so she _had_ thought of it. How could she? "But I won't, because it's not the right thing to do."

"Oh so now you're talking about the right thing? Right after admitting that you want to kill me? Nice, Elsa. Real nice. But hey, you're the Queen. Do whatever you want. God knows I have no say in this."

"You're quite correct. You don't." And even now the smile hadn't left Elsa's face. It was disconcerting, like she'd been talking to a brick wall and this time. "So this is what I'm telling you to do: leave."

Anna's mouth hung open. "Excuse me?"

Elsa went past her, bending down to collect the box and the letter she'd dropped. As Elsa placed the letter inside the box, she dropped the ring she'd been holding and closed the box shut. She then stuffed it back into the saddle bag. "Take Marshmallow with you. I've arranged a passage back to Corona, the ship leaves in half an hour – you'll make it if you hurry. Inside one of the bags you'll find a letter inside to be given to Rapunzel," she said, back towards Anna as she tightened the strap. Unlike Kristoff's fumbling motion, hers were sharp and precise, almost urgent. "She'll take care of you. You won't have to go back to your old life; that I can promise."

What the bloody hell.

Anna couldn't help it – she grabbed Elsa by the shoulder and forced her to turn. This was fast becoming absurd. "Let me get this straight. You bring me here, tell me that I'm your sister, admit to wanting to kill me and then you're throwing me away just like _that?_"

"Not throwing you away. Sending you away. It's for your own good, believe me." As always, there was no discernible emotion behind her words. But at least the infuriating smile was gone.

"For my own good or for yours? You told me to be honest, now I'm telling you to. Say it straight. Or are you too much of a coward?"

It was goading: pure and simple. It was a cowardly trick, but she was desperate to hear Elsa say it. She desperately needed to be hurt more to finally let go. Because even now, she knew that she'd crawl back to Elsa just with a simple I'm sorry or a I didn't mean it. She was weak like that, so weak.

Elsa's next words made it easy for her.

"You leaving will make life easier for me. Your presence complicates my position, Anna, and I simply don't have time to deal with you anymore."

"…so you'll be happier, with me out of your life?"

"Yes."

"Okay then," Anna said, even as she felt like she was head deep inside water, like drowning. Elsa had made it all too easy. A part of her that had survived being torn to shreds was glad she'd found out this way, before she was in too deep. _This_ heartbreak she could survive – she wasn't sure if she could survive a heartbreak from love that was allowed to fester for more than this. Elsa was right: maybe it was best to amputate it cleanly at the source, after all. Whistling for Marsh, she mounted the horse and gave Elsa a long, last look. "I loved you, you know."

"It's just infatuation," Elsa says in a near whisper. Like she hadn't believed the words she had just said.

"You're right; and I was a fool to believe otherwise. I hope you're happy in your gilded throne; even if you don't deserve to be."

"I will, don't worry."

It was the last words they'd exchanged. Anna spurred her horse, riding down the hill with Marsh behind her.

Back to where she started.

* * *

**A/N: This chap: sorry, Anna. Next chap: sorry, Elsa. **


End file.
